


Waves Held Within Stone

by A_F_S_M_A_S



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Azulaang Chakras AU, F/F, Friends to Lovers, Katara and Toph are very smart but when it comes to love they both be pretty dumb, Language, Mutual Pining, Not LOK Compliant, Not comics compliant, Past Aang/Katara (Avatar), Pining, Show Canon Compliant, Slow Burn, Sukka, bisexual awakening, katoph, maiko, might be a little smut in a later chapter, not books compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:07:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 30,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27792787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/A_F_S_M_A_S/pseuds/A_F_S_M_A_S
Summary: Six years have passed since the end of the Hundred Year War. Toph Beifong now resides in Omashu, passing her knowledge on to a new generation of earthbenders. After receiving an unexpected letter containing bad news, Toph leaves the city to console Katara.Little does she know that her offer for Katara to return and live with her in Omashu will lead to something neither could have anticipated.
Relationships: Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Toph Beifong/Katara
Comments: 47
Kudos: 63





	1. Surprises

“Again.”

The line of four young students resumed their horse stance, trying their best to look brave and ready for what their teacher had in store for them. Their fellow students watched from the sidelines, half still catching their breath from their turns, the other half shaking in terror, knowing that they would soon be next.

Sifu Toph began, raising four pillars on the platform parallel to her nervous students on the other side. With each motion of her hands and feet, Toph sent stone after stone from the pillars flying towards the kids. The four worked well together, almost moving in sync as they stepped, blocked, kicked, and punched, going through every step of the form. Missiles that could be caught midair and thrown away were expected to be caught. When they saw a chance to counterattack with their own flung rocks, they knew they had to attack with everything they had. If Sifu’s move was too much, a strong shield was expected. And if they could not parry, block, or counterattack, they were expected to take the hit and show just how strong their roots could be. 

As her ammo depleted, Sifu Toph raised up the last of pieces of her pillars and squeezed her fists together, forming four condensed balls of earth. Not dense enough to punch through a tank, but just enough to make four rookies suddenly fear for their lives. Toph sent out her final missiles and, just as they were taught, her students stepped forward and raised their arms together, bringing up an earth wall. They buckled under the effort of withstanding the impacts of the boulders, but they kept their shield wall up. Toph finished with a powerful stomp, sending a tremor coursing right under them, shaking the whole dojo for a moment. Their cracked and battered wall crumbled while the four wavered and wobbled, but they managed to stay on their feet.

With plenty of constructive criticism in tow, Toph took her time stepping onto the platform towards the quartet, who now stood as tall and straight as they could. She stopped three feet from them, saying nothing at first. Nothing struck the fear of gods into a soul like the dreadful anticipation felt in waiting for Sifu Toph’s feedback. After letting them shiver for a moment, Toph started with the first student, sharply moving her foot backward, taking the ground out from under him and sending him falling onto his back.

“Ling, I can tell you’ve been skipping the exercises I told you to do. Muscles do not define a great earthbender, but they can definitely help. If you get so winded so quickly, you won’t be able to last against anyone in a fight.”

“Yes, Sifu!” exclaimed Ling, who felt like a fool for cutting gym.

She moved onto the second student, knocking him down next. “Chien-Po, you need to learn to commit to your strikes without hesitating or holding back. You have to perform each movement with the fearlessness of an earthbender. In battle, it will make the difference between sinking or swimming.”

“Yes, Sifu!” cried Chien-Po, who really wished that he knew how to swim.

Number three fell just as easily. “Yao, mind your surroundings. Good perception in a fight is the difference between victory and winding up with an arrow in your ass.”

“Yes, Sifu!” yowled Yao, who, at this rate, started to wonder if he should say goodbye to those who knew him.

“And Ming-Na.”

The girl, the youngest daughter of the noble Wen family, began to quiver, hoping that her teacher wouldn’t see right through her. Instead of an explanation, Toph just moved her foot, sending Ming-Na down to the dirt beside her friends.

“What did I do wrong, Sifu?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Toph shrugged. “I just didn’t want you to feel excluded.”

The four collected themselves, wiping off the sweat and dirt and rubbing their sore bruises as they started stumbling to the sidelines. They were stopped by their teacher’s next words. “I like the improvements you kids have made, and you work well together. Keep it up.”

Sifu Toph was sparing with compliments, but always knew exactly when positive reinforcement was both needed and earned, especially for her younger students. It was a lesson in teaching that she learned long ago. Her well timed commendation landed perfectly. “Thank you, Sifu!” the four said in ecstatic unison.

“Next group! Clear the debris and take your places!” Sifu Toph ordered.

The next group didn’t even get the entire platform ready before Toph recognized a familiar set of footprints stepping onto the dojo grounds. She let a quiet sigh, waiting until he was just within earshot before speaking. “Class,” Toph said with an iron tone that could make a dragon rethink its life choices, “what is the one lesson I taught Shuh in this dojo?”

“Not to interrupt Sifu when she’s teaching!” her class answered in chorus.

“And is Shuh following that lesson?”

“No, Sifu!”

Shuh was the latest in a string of appointees to serve as Toph’s personal attendant. She tried to tell Omashu’s city council that she didn’t need one, that the staff they hired to maintain the house that Bumi had given her was enough, but they still sent them. The first resigned soon after due to being unable to cope with experiencing the Toph Beifong lifestyle. The second was let go via earthbending after Toph took umbrage with a remark they made against Zuko. The third, fourth, and fifth blended together so much that she couldn’t remember them individually. 

Then, just as it seemed that no one could keep the job, Bumi gave it to Shuh, a relative of his. How they were related was unknown, even to Shuh himself. Bumi’s story changed from day to day. The king’s accounts ranged from the young man being the great-grandson of a sister who absconded under undisclosed circumstances when they were kids, to being a third cousin four times removed, to being a fourth cousin three times removed. There were even rumors among the court that Shuh was Bumi’s illegitimate son through an unknown dalliance. Whatever the case, Shuh was favored by the king. The young man made a good first impression when, after Toph asked how he expected to keep up with her when so many before him had failed, Shuh replied, “Well... I do have six earthbending sisters. I have a lot of experience with women who can bury me alive.”

But his job still required him to be annoying from time to time, such as now. “I’m sorry for the interruption, Lady Beifong,” Shuh apologized with a bow. “A messenger hawk just arrived with a scroll for you.”

“Don’t tell me the city council has another complaint.”

“No, my lady.”

“If it’s Lord Langyan again, tell him I stand by the decision I made to catapult his jerk of a son.”

“No, my lady. The bird’s canister and scroll both have the seal of the United Republic.”

Toph sighed. “Kids, take five minutes.”

“Thank you, Sifu!” they said. Some rushed off to grab a snack or drink while most just collapsed to the ground, lying motionless and catching their breath.

Toph’s office was a small room with no furnishings or decoration, save for a few chairs. Its only purposes were for when Toph needed to speak with her a student in private, or when she needed a moment’s privacy from her students. “Read the letter,” she told Shuh, leaning back in her chair.

“My lady,” he said, trying to be sensitive, “I wouldn’t want to pry into your personal business.” 

Toph gave him a look, then snatched the scroll from his outstretched hand, unfurled it, and held it right in front of her face. “Hmmm,” she said, fucking with the poor boy for her own amusement, as was her wont in life. “Seems the letters are too small.”

She dropped the scroll to the floor and smashed her foot next to it. “Damn. Still can’t read with earthbending.”

To finish, she picked it up and shoved her face into the middle of the parchment. “It would seem that I am still blind,” she proclaimed before tossing the scroll back to Shuh.

“I’m just trying to respect your privacy, Lady Beifong-”

“Whoever wrote this knows I can’t read or write, so they’re expecting someone else to read it for me. If you were some shit weasel who would use my private affairs against me, Bumi wouldn’t have given you this job.”

“Oh,” said Shuh, clearly touched by the first compliment he had ever received from Toph. “Thank you, my lady.”

“You’re welcome. Now read the letter.”

Shuh began, “It’s from Sokka of the Water Tribe-”

“If he’s written just to tell me another joke he’s come up with, I’m having you draw a middle finger as my reply.”

Shuh chuckled, though he knew she wasn’t kidding and wasn’t looking forward to the possibility of drawing such an obscene gesture to a war hero and world leader. He read on, and Toph waited for whatever silly setup and punchline that Sokka had for her this time.

But no joke came. Shuh had become suspiciously quiet. The letter couldn’t have been that long. Then, a short breath of shock escaped his lips before he could stop himself. Toph could not see his expression, but she felt the tone in the room shift. Before she could ask what was wrong, he said, his voice cautious and somber, “The avatar and his girlfriend have separated.”

Toph sat up in her seat. She wanted to insist that he was wrong, that there was no way that was what the message said. Part of her wanted to call him a liar, but there was no mistaking the sincerity in his voice, and her bending sensed no lie. “Read the words as written.”

Shuh read, “Toph, I hope you’re doing well. It’s been too long since we last saw each other. I’m sorry that I don’t have happier news to share with you, and I’m sorry I have to be the one to tell you this. I figured I would save them the trouble by letting the rest of Team Avatar know. Katara and Aang have separated.”

“Is there a date on that letter?” Toph cut in.

“It’s dated almost three weeks ago.”

“Does he say where Aang and Katara are right now?”

“He says that the avatar must attend to a matter in the Fire Nation, and Lady Katara is on her way to Xiang Ke.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s a small coastal city. It’s located on a peninsula northwest of Omashu.”

“Tell my airship to get ready. We’re leaving before sunset.”

Zuko’s present hadn’t seen much use outside of giving Omashu citizens free rides around the Kolau Mountain Range. Toph hadn’t planned on needing it for something like this, but now she thanked Zuko for his extravagant birthday gift. Her students tried to hide their relief at going for a time without sifu breathing down their necks, only to deflate at her announcement that she expected them to keep coming every morning on time to go through their drills.

“I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. You’ve all been making good progress, and I don’t want that to stumble just because I have a personal affair to attend to. When I get back, I expect to find a full class of dedicated earthbenders. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Sifu!”

* * *

Unable to see what Xiang Ke looked like, Toph relied on her other senses as the airship began its descent. It was certainly loud enough to be a small city. The air smelled of an uneasy mixture of sea salt and burning coal. As they landed and she took her first steps on Xiang Ke’s ground, her bending gave her a better understanding of it. This place might not have sounded or smelled pretty, but it rested on a strong foundation, and she could feel the many steps that called it home. She still didn’t like it, but Xiang Ke had some pros.

Between the crowd who stopped to watch the airship land and then excitedly gathered around Toph after recognizing her, politicians and merchants who she had never met before who suddenly wanted to be her best friend, and the fact that she had no prior knowledge of Xiang Ke and its layout, finding Katara proved to be a long endeavor. Naturally, Toph considered barreling past those in her way with the earth wave technique, or hollowing out a tunnel and traveling that way, but she restrained herself. She didn’t want to reunite with Katara only to then have to tell her that she was wanted by law enforcement for tearing up city property. Eventually, Toph managed to get her location out of the owner of a shop that Katara had frequented since arriving in Xiang Ke. 

The city’s high district was appropriately named, as its various manors and mansions were placed around the winding mountain that towered over the city on its northeastern edge. The city’s magistrate lived at the very top, and had given Katara a guest house not too far from his. Toph couldn’t help but feel disgusted by the area as she made her way up the mountain. Though she had grown up as the daughter of the illustrious Beifong family, she had experienced too much of war and the suffering that it heaps upon the poor to feel anything but contempt towards those who hoarded wealth at the expense of others. Toph knew Katara had to deal with a wide assortment of people, but willingly coming to a place like this in such times boggled her mind.

Upon arriving at the house, Toph was let in by a maid and guided to a study in the back. She approached the room, but lingered at the side of the entrance, letting Katara finish her business with the room’s other inhabitants. She didn’t recognize their voices, but by their conversation she took them for city officials and representatives of distant countries. Toph always left politics and diplomacy as the purview of the rest of Team Avatar. She could lie and intimidate people easily, but her friends preferred honest persuasion and healthy debate. Standing next to the doorway gave Toph the chance to see Katara work her diplomatic magic, and it was an incredible thing to listen to.

Katara spoke with strength that was soft, yet unwavering. There was never a moment where one felt that she was being insincere or uncertain, never a moment where it seemed that she could not meet any challenge to her way of thinking. The wisdom Katara possessed was evident in every word she said, inviting anyone to listen and speak to her. These qualities were perfectly in balance and delivered with a compassionate, welcoming tone that could sway any decent person to what she saw as the right course of action. When Katara spoke, people felt a renewed faith in themselves and their communities. They felt that there were solutions to all the troubles that they faced. Her words made people dare to believe that the wounds that bled for a century of war could be healed. When Katara spoke, she gave people hope.

Of course, this inspiring skill of hers wasn’t a surprise to Toph. Katara had been the one who gently nudged her teaching methods in the right direction, was there to listen when Toph was unsure of herself, and was the first person to ever call her pretty. Though this reunion wasn’t under the happiest of circumstances, she was glad to be with her again after so long apart. From Toph’s perspective, the world should count its lucky stars that Katara was such a good person. Social and communication skills like hers in the wrong person would be a dangerous thing.

Toph went unnoticed as Katara’s other visitors exited the study. She waited until she felt them leave. As the front door closed, Toph could hear the soft, tired sigh escape Katara’s lips, and feel the way she slouched into her chair. She must have been working for the entire day, Toph realized. She clearly didn’t notice her entrance, so Toph made herself known, stepping into view. “Never a day off, Ambassador Mom?”

The fatigue in the air disappeared in an instant as Katara’s palpable relief washed over her. Toph could feel the elation in Katara’s steps as she rose from her chair and rushed to embrace her. In that moment, Katara, Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, disappeared, and Toph was hugging her friend. As their hug continued, Toph thought of saying something comforting, but nothing she could think of felt right in that moment. Or, at least nothing felt as right as simply holding Katara close.

“I wished you would have told me you were coming,” Katara said as she finally released her.

“Nah,” Toph waved her hand with a shrug. “Surprising you guys is what I do best.”

Katara, always the good hostess, guided Toph to a comfortable couch before grabbing a pair of cups from a cabinet over the small stove in the corner. “I take it Omashu is still standing,” she joked while pouring their tea.

“Hey, if that place can survive having Bumi as its king, it can survive me living there.”

Katara handed Toph her cup and took a seat next to her. “And how is your dojo? Is the next generation of earthbenders surviving Sifu Beifong?”

Toph laughed. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Got another group of new students last month. They’ve got a lot of work to do, but they’re good kids. They actually remind me a lot of Aang from when he first…”

Toph bit her tongue, cursing herself for speaking without thinking. The silence in the room was brief, but it knocked out any confidence Toph felt in her ability to console a friend. “Katara, I-”

“It’s okay, Toph,” Katara assured, her voice carefully controlled. “I take it that Sokka told you.”

“He did.”

Another silence followed, and Toph wished her gift for speech didn’t fail her in such sensitive situations. What could she say in such a situation as this? Aang and Katara had been close for as long as she had known them. Aang was kind and loving towards pretty much everyone, but Katara was always special. It was evident in everything, from his concern for her safety as they flew back to Ba Sing Se, to the way he laughed at her jokes, to how she could comfort him in a way that only she could. The way Sokka described it to her once long ago, it had been love at first sight when Katara freed him from the iceberg. 

What could Toph say to make this situation even remotely better? She steadied herself and tried to speak as best as she could. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry that this happened to you. To you both. I... I wish I was as good with words as you are. Then I’d know what to say.”

Katara, thankfully, didn’t let Toph stew in the shame she felt for her suddenly leaden tongue and brought her into another hug. “Thank you, Toph. It’s always nice to know I have your support.”

Toph hugged her back, letting her arms speak more eloquently than her mouth. “Do you have any plans?” she asked, awkwardly.

Katara let her go and answered, “I’m going to visit home. It’s been too long since I’ve seen Gran-Gran and grandfather. I’ve also received a few letters from Southern Water Tribe women who have Northern husbands and children on the way, asking for my blessing.”

Toph raised an eyebrow. “Is that a power waterbenders have? Can you mess with babies before birth? Is it called babybending?”

Katara burst out laughing, filling the room with the sound. Toph didn’t even think her joke was that funny, but Katara’s laughter was so infectious that she couldn’t stop herself from guffawing alongside her. “It’s not,” Katara struggled to say as she tried to reign in her laughter, “we can’t manipulate babies like that, but there are waterbending techniques that can make a pregnancy safer and easier for both the mother and child. It’s more of a cultural and religious thing. They want the only Southern waterbender to bless their new children in the hope that they’ll be waterbenders too.”

“And what are you gonna charge for this?”

“Toph,” Katara affably chided, her breath filled with laughter.

“Katara, you are providing a one of a kind service to these people. It would hardly be robbery to try to get a little something out of it.”

“Calm down, Runaway.”

The sound of their shared laughter could be heard throughout the house.

“After that,” she explained, “I’ll come back here. After bouncing around all over the world for so long, it’ll be nice to settle in one place.”

Toph didn’t hide her surprise. “Seriously? You want to be here?”

“Why? What’s wrong with Xiang Ke?”

“Katara, maybe it’s because I got a sharper nose and set of ears than you do, but this place both sounds and smells terrible.”

“Xiang Ke may be a little rough around the edges, but it has its strong suits.”

Toph shifted in her seat, straightening her posture and resting her forearms on her thighs. “You want to live in a mansion given to you by some politician you just met, surrounded by people who literally see themselves as above the rest of the city?”

Her response came mixed with a sigh. “You’ll find people like that in every city in the world.”

“Fair enough,” Toph relented. 

“Xiang Ke is… flawed, I’ll admit,” Katara continued, “but the damage done to it during the war must be tended to. I’ve already started forging connections with leaders and members of the community, including the heads of the local artisan guilds, dock workers, small shop owners, and farmers from the countryside. I’ve already built a good rapport with the magistrate and key politicians in the city from past negotiations in the United Republic and other Earth Kingdom lands. I’m confident that I can help this city recover.”

“But does it have to be you that does all that work? All on your own?”

Katara was taken off guard by the question, and didn’t hide how it made her feel. “Do you think I can’t handle it?”

Toph gently countered, “I’m not saying you can’t do this job. I’m asking if you should do this job, and if you want to do it by yourself.”

Katara was silent. Finding herself at a loss for words was a rarity for her. Her duties demanded that she always knew what to say, as well as where and when. But this wasn’t another ambassador, or dignitary, or public figure that she was debating or trying to persuade. This was one of her oldest friends, posing questions that she couldn’t think of answers to. Knowing that Toph would sense any lie, Katara tried to move past the topic. “Besides, I’ll be close enough to Republic City that I could book passage on a ship north to visit Sokka and Suki when the baby comes, or sail south to visit Gran-Gran and grandfather whenever I want. It’s… this place is perfect for me.”

Toph’s next words came out without thinking. “Or, better idea, you could come back to Omashu with me.”

Katara was taken aback. “Are you serious?”

In truth, Toph hadn’t come up with a plan on what exactly she would say to comfort Katara. She had little energy to think about it during the flight, as she was still reeling from the shock of Sokka’s letter. Her offer may have lacked forethought, but it felt right. Yes, it felt more than right. “Why not? You could stay with me. Bumi gave me a house a stone’s throw away from the palace. I may have grown up rich, but having a place like that all to myself is too much.”

“I don’t know, Toph. I wouldn’t-”

“I can guarantee that no one in the postal service is still angry over what the three of you did during the war.”

Katara chuckled. “Toph, that’s sweet of you, but-”

“Omashu is the biggest city in the southern Earth Kingdom. You negotiate with a lot of territories, right? How many of them neighbor Omashu? How many more connections could you make there than you could here? You could do in Omashu what you would do here and more. Plus, you’ll be further south and have access to my airship. That’ll make any trips you want to take so much shorter.”

“I wouldn’t want to crowd you,” Katara tried to dissuade, but knew she was losing ground with every point that Toph was making.

“You wouldn’t. You’ll have your ambassador work, and I have my dojo. We’ll be so busy we won’t get in each other’s hair, but we’ll still have a friend right there for support whenever we need it.”

The room was quiet as Katara thought it over. Though Toph couldn’t see the little smile that blossomed on Katara’s lips, she could hear it in her voice. “You really don’t think we’ll drive each other insane by living together?”

Toph shrugged. “We saved the world together. I think we can handle being housemates, Sugar Queen.”

Katara took in a slow breath, and finally nodded. “All right. I’ll move in with you, but can we agree not to resort to old nicknames too often?”

Toph’s smile stretched from ear to ear as she slid an arm around Katara and patted her on the shoulder. “No.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so it begins.
> 
> Did I initially plan on throwing in an extended Disney Easter Egg gag into this fic? No.  
> Did I commit to it once the joke dawned in my mind? You bet your ass I did.  
> (and a ASOUE ref gag too. If you caught both, congratulations. You deserve a cookie)
> 
> I'd like to give a special thank you to irresistible-revolution for giving me feedback on the series title. Like most writers, titles are usually the last thing I come up with.
> 
> This fic is a prequel to my azulaang fic. The first Book, "The Avatar, the Princess, and the Chakras," is already published in its entirety on my profile. I will eventually get around to editing the "part of a series" settings on these fics.  
> But it is not this day.  
> THIS DAY WE WRITE!
> 
> Thanks for reading! As always, comments are appreciated!  
> Sincerely,  
> A.F.S.M.A.S.


	2. Homecoming

“Aang!” Zuko shouted, overjoyed at the sight of Appa landing in the palace courtyard with Aang and Momo aboard. A small crowd of courtiers, servants, and guards gathered on the sides to catch a glimpse of the avatar. In that moment, Zuko had forgotten the various tasks and headaches he faced as fire lord as he began stepping towards his friend. “I had no idea you were coming!”

Aang jumped down from Appa’s head and surprised Zuko when, instead of running up to hug him like normal, he gave a customary bow of his head as he placed a straight hand over his closed fist. This worried Zuko. The world knew how close the avatar and fire lord were, and neither had ever stood on ceremony with one another. Aang was smiling, but his expression was small, subdued, and an unmistakable gloom hung from his shoulders, weighing him down.

“Aang?” Zuko asked, fear building up inside of him. “Aang, is something wrong?”

Aang lifted his head, letting Zuko look into his eyes. Never before had Zuko seen him look so tired. He answered in a low, broken voice, “Katara and I separated.”

Without a word, Zuko buried his shock and threw his arms around his best friend and pulled him into a hug. Aang held him tightly, burying his face into Zuko’s shoulder.

* * *

As the afternoon started turning to dusk, Toph’s airship landed on Humpback Island in the South Sea. The residents of the port town of Nanyun grew nervous at the sight of an unexpected airship landing on the outskirts of their home, but their tension turned to jubilation when they saw Katara emerge. A crowd quickly gathered around them, eager to see their town’s founder again.

Nanyun had been one of Katara’s first triumphs as an ambassador for her homeland. Master Pakku and the Northern benders and healers who joined him had started rebuilding the Southern Water Tribe during the war, but reconstruction proved to be a slow endeavor. Their progress had been halted five years ago by the attack of Admiral Lueduo, master of the Three Flames’ navy, he who had earned his moniker, The Bloody Raven, many times over.

Reconstruction couldn’t resume in earnest until the Three Flames were defeated less than a year later. As she surveyed the destruction visited upon the many new settlements and her home village, Katara steeled her resolve, vowing that the attacks that had plagued her home for a century, that had taken so much from her and her people, would never happen again. The Southern Water Tribe needed to become stronger, and for that to happen it needed more allies. The North’s assistance was vital, but their sister tribe was on the other side of the world. Katara dedicated herself to forging new connections to invigorate the tribe’s military and economy, and to put it back on the global stage. One of her first steps was to establish a center of trade and cultural exchange between her home and the lands of the southern Earth Kingdom.

Katara had recounted the story of it to Toph during their flight south.

* * *

Finding such a suitable place for this hub wasn’t easy. Her home and the Earth Kingdom were separated by the South Sea and by the islands of the Southern Air Archipelago. These islands were sparsely populated by various tribes made up of many clans who had often clashed with one another throughout history. Setting up a town on Whaletail Island had been Katara’s original choice, but during her travels she realized that the situation was more complex than initially anticipated. For her plan to succeed, she would need to bring these tribes into the fold.

Hakoda had given her the title of ambassador and the authority to negotiate on behalf of their tribe with anyone in the world, but he also gave her a word of caution before leaving for the Earth Kingdom. The Southern Water Tribe had a complex history with the islands to the north. On the one hand, there had been many marriages and formal alliances in the past between the peoples of the two regions. On the other, there were also many incidents where raiders from the islands would come south, taking food, supplies, treasures, even people, and there were times where it had been Water Tribe men going north to raid. Before the Hundred Year War, mothers on both sides would tell their children that if they weren’t home before dark, a raider from across the waters would snatch them up and they would never be seen again.

“My grandfather told me a story of one clan’s last raid against our village,” her father told her. “When the Fire Nation attacks, at least you get a warning of their approach when the snow falling around you becomes stained with coal. The islanders know how to sail in secret. You’d never hear them coming until they’re already ashore and letting out their battle cries.”

“But those conflicts are more than a century old now,” Katara countered. “They’ve had to face the Fire Nation just like us. Surely they would unite in the face of a common enemy.”

Hakoda put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not trying to discourage you, Katara. Just be careful. These islanders have fought us, the Fire Nation, the Earth Kingdom, and each other many times over. Don’t be surprised if they haven’t let go of their old grudges.”

The Air Nomads had, historically, been a calming influence on the region. Aang told her stories that Monk Gyatso taught him as a boy, how the monks worked hard to earn the trust and friendship of every tribe, such as in the tale of Monk Odo the Just, which was Aang’s favorite. Many wars had been prevented without a single loss of life due to the efforts of the monks. But that was long ago. Knowing that airbenders lived throughout all of the islands, Sozin had his army decimate and scatter the tribes while the Southern Air Temple was burned. Throughout the war, the Southern Raiders had proven to be as much a bane upon their people as they were on Katara’s. The surviving islanders had put up a century of resistance, making common cause with old rivals to a certain extent for mutual survival. But now the Fire Nation had been expunged from their lands, and there was nothing to stop bad blood on all sides from stirring up old grudges. Katara was walking into a forest filled with hornet nests, but she refused to turn back.

Katara spent the next few months going island to island, speaking with every major and minor clan of the archipelago. A few were open to listening from the start, while others needed to be convinced to hear her out at all. Clan Se was suffering the outbreak of a fever, so Katara spent days tending to their sick, and arranged for shipments of medicine from Kyoshi Island and for one of Pakku’s healers to join her, thus earning their tribe’s trust.

The truculent Gra clan, known for its skill at arms, were wary of strangers. To test her mettle, the chief’s eldest son challenged her to a fight. Recognizing the almost ceremonial role that combat played in their tribe’s culture, Katara asked, “May I use any weapon?”

The man smirked, drawing his short sword. “Anything you want.”

“Very well. I accept your challenge.”

The fight didn’t last long, concluding with Katara standing tall and the chief’s son flat on his back, restrained by frozen tentacles. “I thought there were no waterbenders in the south,” he uttered.

“I am Katara, daughter of Kya and Chief Hakoda. I am the only living waterbending master of the Southern Water Tribe.” With that declaration, she freed the trapped warrior and offered him a hand up. He accepted it, and with that, Katara had earned the tribe’s respect.

The Rmu clan faced a difficult matter. Neighboring Earth islands to the east, which Katara hoped would join her venture as trading partners, had been sending their fishing vessels into the Rmu’s ancestral waters. Negotiations were delicate, but Katara managed to convince the Earth Kingdom that they had more to gain from the trading network she was developing than their current fishing operation. With the Earth Kingdom’s agreement to stop fishing in their waters, Clan Rmu gave Katara their support.

The final piece in her plan was the Stong clan, whose tribe held control over Humpback Island, where the last great summit of clans in the region’s history took place. The Stongs were an old, proud clan who boasted descent from a legendary air king who ruled over all the islands, had traveled the world, struck fear into the hearts of a thousand foes, and had taken over a hundred wives, including women from the Southern Water Tribe.

Messengers told Katara that the chief agreed to meet with her in his great hall. The walls of it were lined with weapons, treasures, and the bones and furs of bear seals, sea serpents, and lion sharks. The hall was packed with many tribe members, including those of Clan Stong and those of clans who followed them. Few in the archipelago could be called soft, but those that now surrounded her, who stared at her suspiciously as she passed, seemed particularly hardened. Even their elders seemed strong enough to break someone’s neck with a single twist of the hand. At the end of the hall, seated on a throne carved from the ivory of a mammoth whale, was the chief of the Stong Clan. A giant of a man, he towered over others and possessed a strong musculature, skin that sported many battle scars, and had a long face with a salt and pepper beard.

As Katara spoke, he studied her in silence, his hard, gray eyes betraying nothing. When she finished, his deep voice reverberated throughout the hall as he responded, “I remember stories my father told me when I was a boy, of when our people fought warriors of the Southern Water Tribe, of how they joined with other clans to attack us. Now a girl from that tribe stands before me saying I should make peace with my old enemies?”

For a moment, Katara thought to say what she had said to her dad, of how these conflicts were long ago, and that those who participated in them were long gone, but she held her tongue in fear that such words would be misconstrued as denial, disrespect, or willful ignorance. Instead she asked, “What do you know of Fire Lord Zuko, honorable chief?”

He raised an eyebrow, surprised at the question. “The banished, scarred prince of the Fire Nation who joined the avatar to overthrow his father. What of him?”

“He was once our enemy,” she explained. “He came to my village looking for Aang and threatened my people. He hunted us all over the world in his attempt to capture the avatar for the Fire Nation. He even helped his sister conquer Ba Sing Se. But after the Battle of Black Sun, he joined us, taught Aang firebending, and helped us win the war. I made peace with him and forgave him. That friendship helped end the war.”

The room was silent, recognizing the point she was making behind her story. The chief seemed to acknowledge her point, yet spoke with little patience. “If your people are serious in your desire for peace, why hasn’t your chief come to see us himself?”

“My father is currently in the Earth Kingdom, ensuring that the last Fire Nation holdouts are removed. He has given me authority to negotiate on behalf of our tribe.”

“The Fire Nation is defeated. What enemy would you unite these islands and your tribe against?”

“Against any who would attack us. With your support, we can make an alliance so strong that no one, not even the likes of the Southern Raiders, can threaten our homes ever again.”

The hall looked among each other, bristling at the mention of their longtime enemy. Chief Stong gave a single stroke of his beard. “Your mission is admirable, but you’ll never get the support of enough clans to make this venture a reality.”

“I have already visited each of the other islands and spoken to the leaders of their clans. They have all agreed to come to a summit.”

The hall became filled with the surprised murmurings of the audience. Even the chief seemed shocked. “All of them?”

She nodded. “All of them. This summit will affect the entire region. I wouldn’t want any tribe of the islands to miss it. Before the war, Humpback Island was once the place where clans from all over the archipelago could meet in peace and forge strong friendships. With your blessing, I would like to help it become such a place again.”

The chief’s expression fell, an almost crestfallen sigh escaping his throat. “Those blessed times are long gone, as are the Air Nomads who made them possible.”

“No, they aren’t.”

All were surprised at such a blatant rebuttal of their leader. Katara could see that this tribe wouldn’t respect those who they saw as weak, so she spoke boldly. “Avatar Aang of the Southern Air Temple lives. Acolytes gather to his cause every day, eager to learn and follow Air Nomad philosophy. They’ve already begun the reconstruction of the Southern Air Temple.”

Chief Stong shook his head. “It won’t be the same. These new acolytes are not of Air Nomad blood, nor are they airbenders.”

“True, honorable chief. But the avatar has deemed them worthy of continuing his people’s traditions. Before I came here, he expressed his wish that he could accompany me, but dire matters elsewhere demanded his attention. Before he left, he asked me to convey a message to all of the tribes of these lands, knowing that the Air Nomads hold a vital place in your lineage. He offers a place to any who wish to join him and his new followers in rebuilding the Air Nation.

“Yes, these new nomads won’t be the same as the ones the world once knew. Even as my home is rebuilt, we work with the knowledge that whatever comes from our labors won’t replace what was lost. What we once had is gone, but we cannot let our grief over it ruin our chance to build something new, something that can bring about peace and prosperity. That is how we can become truly strong, by rising above the circumstances that life has dealt to us.”

Throughout their conversation, three women had been standing at the chief’s side. By their garb and placement, Katara guessed that they were his wives. The one standing closest to him was wrapped in silk and white furs, had dark brown skin and hair, and blue eyes. As the chief contemplated Katara’s words in silence, she gave him a subtle, gentle look. His eyes met hers, and a moment later he turned back to Katara. “You say that all of the other tribes have agreed to this?”

She nodded. “They have, Chief Stong.”

“Then I will consent to this summit, on one condition.” The chief made a slight wave of his hand, and the first of his wives exited the room. When she returned, she did so hand in hand with a young girl, no older than six. The girl only had eyes for Katara, and seemed oddly nervous.

“Dawa,” the chieftess gently told her, “this is Lady Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. Do you want to show her your talent?”

Dawa looked at Katara as one might look at a mountain or the moon, full of overwhelming wonder. She slowly stepped towards her, pulling out a small vial that hung from a pendant around her neck and removed the lid. She waved her hand at the top, pulling out a small bead of water, letting it hover over her palm. Katara couldn’t hide her wide-eyed astonishment if she tried.

“I have heard your story before, Katara of the Water Tribe. This is my price,” Chief Stong declared. “Teach my daughter the art of waterbending, and I will give my consent for this summit.”

Katara took a few steps towards Dawa and went to both knees in front of her. “Hello, Dawa,” she gently greeted.

“Hello,” the girl shyly replied.

“That’s a pretty technique you have. May I show you one of my own?”

Dawa nodded. Katara opened the waterskin she kept at her side, and with an easy motion she pulled out a stream of water, letting it flow in the air between them. Dawa was so excited at the sight of it that she started shaking her arms, letting her bead of water drop to the floor. In that moment, Katara realized she was looking at her younger self. What would her life have been like, she wondered, had she met a master like herself at such a young age?

“Would it be okay if I teach you what I know?” Katara asked.

Dawa nodded with the kind of enthusiasm one can only find in a child.

“Then I’m your teacher.”

The summit began a few days later. On the first day, a suspicion that had plagued Katara for weeks became a reality. The long work she had done to make the summit happen in the first place was the easy part. As she explained her proposal for the construction of a hub for economic development and cultural exchange, she received a flurry of questions from all sides. Where will this new settlement be built? How large will it be? Who were these new trade partners going to be? What would each tribe receive from this venture? As the room eventually exploded into argument, Katara was at least thankful that no one was stabbing each other yet.

On the second day of the summit, a vocal member of Clan Se brought up the issue of Katara’s agreement to train Dawa Stong. “What of the waterbenders of Clan Se? Don’t they deserved to be trained?”

“Does your clan even have any waterbenders?” asked the man she had dueled from the Gra clan.

The man blinked. “Not now, no. But someday we might. Are we to worry on that day that a Stong bender, taught in Southern Water Tribe ways, would overpower us natives?”

Katara cut in. “Waterbending does not belong to any individual or individual group. It belongs to everyone. I am willing to teach everything I know to anyone who is able and willing to learn.”

With that issue resolved, the summit continued.

The third day saw the ugliest of the arguments. A fight had broken out the night before between members of rival clans over accusations of theft and deceit, and they had brought their quarrel to the assembled clans. From there it descended into thunderous anarchy. When one man denounced the summit altogether, declaring that the differing tribes were like oil and water, Katara’s voice cut through the clamor like a knife. “There is far more that unites you than divides you!”

That took the room by surprise. As all eyes fell on her, Katara explained. “Yes, every tribe here has its differences. But throughout my travels in the archipelago, I have discovered that there is so much that you all share. The dialects you speak are of the same, shared language. You all trace your roots to voyagers from three nations, and I have seen the best qualities of each of them in you. The endurance of the Earth Kingdom, the fun-loving humor of the Air Nomads, and the community and love of the Water Tribe, all held with a spirit completely unique to your peoples. 

“You all survived a century of war, and you bear the same scars. The Fire Nation attacked your homes many times over, just as they did mine.” Katara took a short breath to steady herself, and continued. “Yon Rah, former captain of the Southern Raiders, killed my mother in the belief that she was the last waterbender of the Southern Water Tribe. She lied to protect me. Like all of you, I grew up under the constant threat of the Fire Nation’s violence. I know what it is like to live in fear, to feel powerless as those I loved were taken away from me. I have seen what suffering under tyranny can do to people, and the horrors that some are willing to commit while using their grief as their only justification. But I know that hope is stronger than fear, and I know that every tribe here has stubbornly held on to hope throughout the war. Despite everything you have lost, each tribe here has maintained its soul. I discovered the proof of this in every clan who welcomed me into their midst.”

“And what proof do you speak of?” Chief Stong asked, his voice betraying the effect her words were having on them all.

Katara turned her head, looking to Norbu, a member of Clan Gmu she had befriended, seated at his chief’s side. “Norbu. Tell me again of your father. Who was he?”

“A proud warrior of the Gmu clan,” he answered.

“And your mother? Was she also originally born in your tribe?”

“No, Lady Katara. She was a refugee from the Earth Kingdom.”

Katara nodded, turning back to the center of the assembly. “There is my proof. On every single island, in every tribe, in every clan, I have found former refugees and their children. Despite all of the hardships you’ve faced, hunger, disease, the horrors of war, you still opened your homes to people who needed help. I’ve traveled the world, and I’ve seen great cities and vast kingdoms callously deny any safe harbor to the victims of the Fire Nation. But not one clan of the Southern Islands ever turned their backs on people who needed them. You all accepted them, protected them, made them part of your families. Don’t you realize how amazing that is?”

The room was silent. The daggers with which they stared at their neighbors were now blunted, their fiery anger extinguished. Katara continued. “When my idea first popped into my head, I initially thought only of my homeland. But then I came here, and I learned quickly just how wrong and foolish I was. My father made me an ambassador for our people, and I thought the war had made me wise enough to be one, but the clans who stand before me now showed me just how much more I still have left to learn. I have not come here to make any individual tribe stronger. I have not come to tell you how to settle ancient grudges or differing claims. I am here to make us all stronger by binding us together, by forging friendships around the world. I know what I am asking for requires a great deal of faith, that what I’m proposing might seem too much to hope for. But I ask knowing full well that you are capable of that kind of hope.

“I ask you to join in alliance with one another and with the Southern Water Tribe. Let us make a union that enriches us all. Let us enter this new era of peace together, stronger, wiser, and freer than we have ever been before. I ask you, tribes of the southern isles, will you join us?”

The gathered were left in speechless awe. Not since the fall of the Air Nomads had a foreigner come into their midst and earn their trust as Katara had. It had been far too long since someone spoke of hope to them in such a way. The hearts and minds of the tribes were moved by Katara’s words. For the first time in over a century, peace and prosperity seemed not as a dream or a distant memory of their elders, but as a reality within reach.

A peace treaty was soon signed by the head of every clan and by Chief Hakoda, with Aang serving as witness. As the cheers rang out through the crowd, Hakoda brought his daughter into a hug. “Your mother would be as proud of you as I am.”

With the South Sea’s support, Katara began reaching out to planners, builders, and merchants in the Earth Kingdom, calling on old favors and past connections to start acquiring the necessary resources and investments. Refugee camps were still present in the southern Earth Kingdom, filled with those who had no home to return to and were unwanted by most of the major cities and minor kingdoms. Katara had often advocated for these refugees, and had clashed with many obstinate politicians who denied those seeking asylum. Among the camps, Katara offered a place to anyone willing to travel and help build a new home. While some were hesitant to leave the mainland, their trust in Katara swayed them into making the journey.

Thus, Nanyun was established. Members of the Southern Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom citizens, and South Sea islanders all called the town home. Traders from as far north as the developing United Republic and as far east as Chameleon Bay came, further enriching the region. It was Katara’s wish that, one day, new Air Nomads would also walk among this burgeoning community she had brought together. Perhaps even the Fire Nation some day, after the scars of war had been addressed. Though the town was young and still growing, Katara had great hopes and ambitions for Nanyun.

“That’s amazing, Katara!” Toph cheered as Katara finished the story.

Katara smiled in gratitude, but couldn’t say anything in response other than, “Thanks, Toph.” She didn’t want to sound melancholic, but she couldn’t help but remember how Aang had once said the same thing.

* * *

Toph was glad that Nanyun reciprocated Katara’s hard work and dedication with such admiration and respect. There was even a larger than life statue of her in the center of the town’s courtyard. Carved from the dark woods of the island’s native trees, it depicted Katara standing tall, a current of water bending around her. Or, at least it would one day depict that. The artist that had been hired to carve and paint the statue insisted on doing the work alone, that only she could do the legendary Master Katara justice.

“The airship has to stay here,” Katara told her as they finally got away from the crowd. “We’ll book passage on a ship for the rest of the way.”

“Why? The airship will halve our travel time.”

Katara tactfully replied, “Because most of my people have never seen an airship before, and we have a history of fearing any large transport made by the Fire Nation.”

Toph sighed. “Fine.”

Securing passage in the morning was a simple task. There were plenty of volunteers to leap at the opportunity. With that taken care of, Katara happily announced, “Now, let’s get you ready for the cold.”

As Toph slowly realized what Katara meant, her body became paralyzed in fear. “Katara, I am willing to travel hundreds of miles and fight armies for you, but there are limits to what I’ll do to make you feel better.”

“Come on, Toph. I think you can survive another shopping trip with me.”

“That’s because you’ve never had to shop with someone like you.”

“I am not that bad!”

“If you didn’t browse for an hour per item you wanted, I’d agree with you.”

But despite her protests, Toph agreed to the shopping trip. Katara led Toph by the arm into a local shop, where she proceeded to have a ball. Half an hour so later, Katara voiced an epiphany. “Toph, you didn’t pack a change of clothes before leaving Omashu.”

Toph slowly shook her head, knowing where this was going.

“In that case, you could also use a few new outfits. We’ll start with pajamas.”

She let out a quiet sigh. So long as Katara was happy, Toph was willing to grit her teeth and bear it.

Though Toph couldn’t see the end result, Katara’s choices for her were not only practical but quite stylish, which she pointed out as she dressed Toph in her new winter clothes. First came the base layer, made up of a long tunic and a pair of leggings, both form-fitting and colored sky blue. Next, Katara had bought and personally wrapped the mid layer around Toph’s body, which consisted of an ankle length robe with split sides for leg movement, along with thick quarliik trousers. As her outer layer, Toph now wore an amauti coat, dark blue with kelp green wave patterns along the chest and arms, with a white fur sash at her waist and linings to match at the hood, cuffs, and hems. The new outfit was completed by three-holed mittens, wool socks, and thick sealskin boots. Though Toph’s Earth Kingdom features gave her away as a visitor, from a distance one could mistake Katara and Toph for sisters.

“So?” Katara asked, her voice exuding an energy that Toph could only describe as enthusiastically girly. “How does it feel?”

Toph let out an uneasy groan from behind pressed lips. “Snug. Warm. Fluffy. I kinda feel like a woolly boar.”

“You look great, Toph!”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Toph replied, knowing full well that Katara meant it.

Securing lodging for the night proved to not be as simple as travel or shopping. Nanyun had one major inn for travelers. The owner excitedly welcomed them before ordering one of her employees to tell a guest to vacate their room.

“No, please, you don’t have to,” Katara cordially protested. “I don’t want to kick anyone out of their room.”

The owner fiddled her hands awkwardly. “Well, it’s just… if nobody gives up their room, we only have a single room left for you and Lady Toph to share for the night, and that room only has one bed.”

Before Katara could say anything, Toph spoke up, “I don’t mind bunking up for the night.”

Katara blinked in surprise, then shrugged. “Well, I guess that settles it.”

Their room was cute, with furnished hardwood floors covered in soft cotton rugs and a window to the seaside view. It was snug, however, and Toph had difficulty getting a feel of it through the carpeting and wooden floor. As Katara changed into her nightwear, Toph, already changed, grabbed a pillow and blanket from the lone bed and laid down on the floor.

“Toph, what are you doing?”

“It’s okay. This isn’t the first floor I’ve slept on.”

Katara gently grabbed her by the hand and pulled her towards the mattress. “The bed is big enough for two,” she said, her friendly tone giving no room for argument.

The bed was big enough for two, but really only if those two people were willing to cuddle. It took the two of them a while to find appropriate sleeping positions. As awkward as it was, it was nice to have a little extra body heat under the blanket.

“Well,” said Toph, trying to ignore some of the strange thoughts going through her head, “get some rest, Sugar Queen. And try to resist the urge to shnuggle up with the greatest earthbender alive.”

Katara laughed. “Do all Gaoling girls smooth-talk like this in bed?”

“Hey, believe me, Sweetness. If I wanted you, you’d already be mine.”

* * *

On the bow of the ship where they stood, Toph insisted that she was hanging onto Katara’s arm only because she couldn’t see through the wooden deck of the ship, and not because it was one of the coldest mornings that Toph had ever experienced in her life.

“You can thank me for that shopping trip any time, Toph.”

“I thought winters back home were bad,” Toph muttered, her face shaking from the chill in the air.

Katara giggled. “If you think this crisp spring morning is bad, you should try actually visiting during winter.”

“How do your people live in a place like this!?”

Toph could hear Katara’s taunting shrug and smirk in her voice as she responded, “I guess those of the Water Tribe are made of sterner stuff than you earthbenders.”

Toph growled, which only made Katara laugh. The sound of it did elevate her mood. Somewhat.

The ship pulled into the harbor at midday. Between her new boots and the dense layer of snow atop the icy ground, Toph felt truly blind for the first time in years. The world around her was cold, wet, and more than fuzzy, but she kept the rest of her complaints to herself. This trip was for Katara, and, for Katara’s sake, Toph would weather these unfashionable conditions, from the weather to the fashion.

Sokka and Katara’s village had been the epicenter for the reconstruction process started by the benders and healers from the Northern Water Tribe. The elder politicians of the Fire Nation proved resistant to the idea of their government giving out reparations, but Zuko managed to secure a handsome sum for the Southern Water Tribe. The harbor had been expanded to allow for dozens of ships of varying sizes to make port at the same time. Walls and guard towers had been reconstructed, and Katara had pointed out patrol ships and beacons fixed onto glaciers on their way in, showing off the new defense system protecting the Southern Water Tribe. Igloos and huts were redone, returning the village to a size and population unseen since the pre-war era. Various businesses, from restaurant stalls to artisan shops, flanked the main road they walked on. All the while, Katara was pointing out each of the sights to Toph, detailing the reconstruction process and the fruits of their labor. As happy as Toph was for the village, it was Katara’s joy at all of it that mattered more to her. They hadn’t been traveling into the village for too long before Katara shouted, “Gran-Gran!”

She ran to the entrance of the house to embrace her waiting grandmother. A moment later, Pakku emerged from the home, hiding his limp as best as he could as he walked up to Katara, hugging her.

Toph had only met Sokka and Katara’s grandparents briefly on two occasions, Pakku on the day before Sozin’s Comet, and both of them on the day of Sokka and Suki’s wedding. As she hadn’t spoken much with them on either occasion, Katara took the opportunity to reintroduce her. “Gran-Gran, grandfather, you remember Toph Beinfong. She taught Aang earthbending and helped us win the war.”

“And invented metalbending, and took down an entire fleet of Fire Nation airships-”

Katara laughed. “Toph, if I listed off all of your achievements, we’d be here all day.”

“Damn straight!”

* * *

Toph had given Katara some time alone with her family to speak of what had happened, waiting on the porch of their home. She only wished that the rest of her family was there with them. Katara had already visited Sokka and Suki up north following the separation. Chief Hakoda was visiting Ba Sing Se as a guest for King Kuei for some political thing that Toph hadn’t paid attention to. She could only imagine what it must have been like for Sokka to have written the news to their dad.

Waiting out in the cold proved to be a less than stellar experience, though no one around her was acting like it was cold. Katara eventually fetched her for supper. “You okay,” Toph quietly asked as they re-entered the house.

Katara hid the strain in her voice, though not well enough to sneak it past Toph’s ears. “Yes, everything’s fine.”

Gran-Gran’s arctic hen, seasoned with black peppers and garlic, smelled and tasted amazing. The sea prune stew gave Toph nightmarish flashbacks to eating dinner with Hama, but she kept such comments to herself. As they talked during dinner, it was nice just to hear Katara laugh and converse happily, even if everything she talked about was her various diplomatic works around the world. Gran-Gran and Pakku spoke of new affairs going on in the village. “The friends you made in the South Sea are excellent traders,” Pakku said, “though they keep trying to work their charms on our benders and healers. It seems they’re determined to add waterbenders to their clans. I’m not sure how long my unmarried colleagues can last under their flirting.”

“It’s not just the unmarried ones they’re targeting. I’ve had to fight off a few Air island floozies who kept trying to steal him,” Kanna quipped, sending them all into a fit of laughter.

After dinner, Katara and Pakku briefly retired to another room, leaving Toph alone with Gran-Gran. “Are you still cold, Toph?” she asked while preparing a pot of tea.

“I’m okay,” she lied. “It snows in Gaoling. I’ve just never been this far south before.”

“I can fetch you a scarf so you don’t have to keep your hair in your face.”

Toph couldn’t help but chuckle, moving the hair out of her eyes to show them to Kanna.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I didn’t realize you were blind.”

Toph moved her hands in a calming gesture. “It’s okay. I can actually see with my earthbending.”

“And how are you doing when the ground is made of ice and covered in snow?”

“I’m completely in the dark. I’ve basically had to hold on to Katara since we boarded the ship in Nanyun.”

Kanna smiled. “My Katara has always been like that. Ever since she could walk, she’s been so thoughtful and caring towards others. She even tried to help Kya and I deliver our neighbor’s baby when she was only four.”

Toph laughed. “Yeah, that sounds like Katara.”

Kanna’s smile slowly faded, the nostalgia in her voice turning bitter. “Now she’s negotiating with royals and traders all over the world, establishing towns, and making our tribe more and more friends by the day.”

Toph, surprised, spoke bluntly. “You sound almost disappointed.”

“Far from it,” Kanna insisted, pouring both of their cups. “I couldn’t be more proud of Katara and Sokka. They saved the world after all. But there is only so much that one person can do, and they were so young when destiny called on them to serve the world. And now...” Kanna cut herself off with a note of forced laughter. “Forgive me. You didn’t come all this way to hear some old hag’s whinging.”

Toph feared going too far, but she was honest to a fault. “So that’s where Katara gets it from.”

“Gets what from?”

“That quality that says you have to be quiet when something’s bothering you. That somehow hiding your pain from the people who care about you is a good thing.”

Kanna was silent for a moment, then nodded. "You're not wrong." She took a moment to steady herself, and followed Toph’s advice. “I wish I never had to put so much on her shoulders. She’s always had to burden more than her fair share. She was only eight when we lost Kya, when my son and the men left for the war. That was the end of her childhood. Katara is strong, loyal, and tenacious, but that is because the hardships we faced molded her that way. She was never allowed to be anything but a pillar of support for others. Now she is a grown woman, and she has made herself a pillar for the world. The duties she has devoted herself to have torn her apart from Aang.”

She hung her head, holding onto her cup as if it were an anchor. “I still remember the day he came to our village. It shames me how wrong my first impression of him was. Katara had never given up hope that the avatar would return someday. It was destiny that she and Sokka found him in that iceberg. When she told me after the war that she and Aang had fallen in love, well... how could I not be overjoyed? I dreamt of the long, happy life I thought they would have, of the great-grandchildren that would one day terrorize my life just as their mother and uncle once did. ...and now those days may be lost.”

“I may not be able to help Katara with diplomacy or anything like that, but I can promise you she won’t be alone. She’s agreed to come back with me to Omashu. King Bumi has given me a house there. I promise you,” Toph swore, raising her head so that Kanna could see the sincerity and conviction on her face, “I will do everything I can to support Katara.”

Gran-Gran reached across the table and put a warm hand on Toph’s. “I’m glad Katara has a friend like you watching out for her.”

* * *

In the back of the home, Katara insisted on checking Pakku’s old injuries, as she did any time she visited home. He tried to allay her concerns, telling her that his healers were taking good care of him, but Katara persisted.

On the day of the attack, Pakku had come face to face with the Bloody Raven himself on the battlefield. Pakku was a master, but his opponent was in his physical prime and had a ferocious talent for firebending. Their battle ended in a draw, with Pakku suffering extensive burns from his knees to his torso, while his opponent had to be carried away, bleeding from a gash that ran from his left jawbone to the right of his temple. The bastard bore that hideous scar until the day he died.  On the day Aang returned to her and told her how Lueduo died, slashed and stabbed from head to toe by his mutinous crew, Katara shocked them both by her coldly honest response: “Good.”

She brushed away the memory and focused on the task in front of her. As she ran her water along Pakku’s scars, the sight of his skin reminded her of Zuko’s face. “Have you written to Chief Arnook? Maybe he would send you a sample of spirit water-”

“No, Katara,” he interrupted, his tone calm but firm, “and I’m not going to ask.”

It hadn’t been the first time she had brought up the idea, and was once even tempted to go behind Pakku’s back and ask for him. “Why not?”

“Because it has never been the custom of our tribe to just dispense water from the Spirit Oasis to anyone who asks.”

“But you gave me a vial during the war.”

“Because Chief Arnook and the elders agreed that it was a suitable reward for Team Avatar saving the Northern Water Tribe, and that it could be an invaluable tool for your mission. Which we were right about, I might add.”

“But…” Katara tried to argue, but felt her confidence slipping away, “you’re a waterbending master. You’ve served your homeland for decades, you fought in the war, you came all the way here to help us rebuild. Surely that entitles you to-”

“Many warriors bear scars, Katara,” Pakku replied, placing a consoling hand on her forearm. “They learned to live with their marks, so I will live with mine. I will not use that sacred water just so I can look better with my shirt off.”

“I’ve seen how you walk, grandfather,” she pointed out. “Are you still in that much pain?”

The master waterbender gave her a confident smile. “I’m old Katara. Old people don’t tend to be the most physically active.”

“And yet, five geezers took Ba Sing Se back from the Fire Nation.”

Pakku’s expression feigned offense. “Hey, I said I was old, not a geezer.”

Katara let out a brief laugh as she finished the healing session, drawing her water back into the pouch at her side.

“Besides, I should be the one asking how you’re doing.”

She shook her head and tried to hide behind a smile. “I’m fine, grandfather.”

“Katara.” His gentle tone demanded honesty, which Katara wasn’t sure she was ready for. It was one thing to talk about such matters with Gran-Gran or dad, but something in her held her tongue in front of Pakku.

“I’ll be fine.”

Pakku took her hands in his and looked her straight in the eye. “Take it from a seasoned master who’s had to learn a few things in his old age. Love can be tricky, and the course it runs is rarely smooth.”

“That’s true,” Katara weakly agreed, hanging her head.

Pakku put a gentle hand under her chin and lifted her head back up, making sure she was looking him in the eye before adding, “Sometimes an end is only temporary.”

Katara nodded, accepting his wisdom. She could feel a lump building in her throat, a sudden shaking sensation coursing through her body. She did her best to compose herself, yet there was only so much control she could force over herself, and her loved ones often forced her to be honest with herself. Katara did not wish to cry in front of her teacher, but she couldn’t stop herself from crying in front of her grandfather.

Pakku ignored his sore muscles and bones and moved to hug his granddaughter, holding her tight. “It’ll be all right, Katara.”

She said nothing, hugging him tight as her tears ran down her cheeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the only part of the entire fic where it made sense to do the "only one bed" trope, and by God I was going to seize the opportunity!
> 
> A special birthday shoutout to irresistible-revolution! Happy birthday, Doc! Hope it's a good one!
> 
> As I was developing this worldbuilding for the Southern Air Archipelago, a nice little headcanon came to me of Aang having a grandparent or great-grandparent from one of these clans of the islands. I even realized after the fact that I had given the Stong chief gray eyes, which are an Air Nomad feature. I'm not sure if I'm ready to make it canon in this fic, but I think it's a neat idea.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Sincerely,  
> A.F.S.M.A.S.


	3. Moving Pains

Toph and Katara stayed in the South Pole for a week before returning to Humpback Island, where they spent the next two weeks as guests of the Stong clan. Katara’s time was spent evenly between speaking with various islanders and Nanyun officials, receiving updates on current affairs and giving counsel to those who asked, and training Dawa.

Dawa Stong, daughter of the clan’s chief, had been Katara’s pupil for almost five years. Though her duties forced her to spend most of her time away from the south, Katara always ensured that Dawa’s education wouldn’t suffer. She had painted volumes of waterbending scrolls and arranged for a suitable tutor in the form of Tarrik, a pupil of Master Pakku. But drawings and substitute teachers paled in comparison as far as Dawa was concerned. Under Katara’s tutelage, she had grown from a shy girl into a boisterous preteen, brimming with energy and confidence. As much fun as the kid had learning under Katara again, Toph took note of the way their lessons lifted Katara’s spirits. The subtle, melancholic undercurrent that Toph had heard in her voice for weeks was gone, replaced with a jovial fervor that she hadn’t heard in Katara since they were kids. Dawa’s lessons left both teacher and student out of breath and smiling from ear to ear.

“You trained the avatar too!?” Dawa asked as soon as Katara introduced her to Toph.

“Yup!” Toph answered. It had been far too long since she received such wide-eyed adoration from a child. Her younger students, soon after joining her class, would consistently and quickly replace such feelings with both respect and fear. “Also invented metalbending, took down dozens of armies, and saved the world.”

“Wow! Can you teach me something!?”

“I’ve never taught a non-earthbender before-”

“But think about it! I could freeze a big pool of water, then break the ice apart and fling the pieces like boulders! The enemy wouldn’t see it coming!”

“Waterbending is all about change and versatility,” Katara pointed out, turning water floating in her hand into ice, then mist, then back into water. “Plus, some of the greatest benders alive take inspiration from other bending disciplines.”

Dawa excitedly nodded her head. “Plus I’m an Islander! I’ve got Air Nomad, Earth Kingdom, and Water Tribe in my blood! I can totally learn! Please teach me, Master Beifong!”

Toph, admiring the girl’s gusto and yielding to Katara’s point, agreed, and spent the rest of the afternoon going over the fundamental basics of earthbending with Dawa, from the horse stance to the stubborn mentality an earthbender had to maintain to mold their element. As a bonus, Dawa’s parents saw it as a great honor to have their daughter trained by another member of Team Avatar.

At dinner that night, Katara praised Dawa’s progress to her parents. “I’m glad to see how productive her training under Tarrik has been.”

Her student added, “Yeah, but he’s nowhere near as cool as you, Master Katara.”

“Dawa,” her father chided.

“By which I mean that Master Tarrik is a wise and patient teacher, has done our tribe a great service by training me, and deserves honor and respect.”

“Where is Tarrik?” Katara asked. “I haven’t seen him since I came back.”

“My cousin is entertaining him in the north,” answered Chieftess Kushok, her playfully suggestive tone detailing exactly what she meant by that.

“My grandfather did mention something about islanders flirting with every bender from the Northern Water Tribe.”

“Yeah, but their kids will be eating my dust!” Dawa proclaimed, sending everyone at the table into a fit of laughter.

Katara and Toph eventually took their leave of Humpback Island, though Dawa was downhearted to see her first teacher go again. In response, Katara asked her, with a voice so warm it could melt ice, “Do you still have the scrolls I made for you?”

She nodded, keeping her head hung low. 

“Do you remember what I told you the first time I had to go? The words my master told me?”

Dawa, her voice still gloomy, looked up and replied, “With fierce determination, passion, and hard work, I can accomplish anything.”

“Keep up the great work, and someday you’ll be a better waterbender than I ever was.”

A smile worked its way onto Dawa’s face. She brought her hands together and bowed, saying, “Thank you, Master Katara.”

* * *

“You’re a good teacher, Katara,” said Toph, gently knocking her on the arm as the airship left Humpback Island behind.

“Dawa is an excellent student,” she agreed, rubbing her arm, “though I fear she’s turning out like you were at that age.”

“That’s how I know you’re an amazing teacher! Just as the badger moles shaped me, you’ve shaped Dawa. You should consider opening up your own dojo.”

Katara laughed. “It makes me wonder if I would have turned out like you too, had my dad found a teacher for me when I was that young.”

“Nah. It’s destiny that you wound up so motherly.”

“Thanks, Toph,” Katara dryly responded.

“I can imagine it perfectly. The legendary Master Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, war hero, peace bringer, she who challenged centuries of oppressive thinking to forge her own path, changing minds, winning hearts, and kicking butt all along the way. Waterbending girls from every tribe coming to her school to learn and carry on her work. Slowly but surely, her story becomes legend, second only to that of the Blind Bandit herself!”

Katara gave her a half-smile, a small sound of amused acknowledgement escaping her throat. She remained on the bridge for a while, her arms rested on the guardrail, staring out into the setting sun as she became lost in thought.

That night, Toph’s tremor sense picked up the tossing and turning coming from the other room. For a moment, she thought to leave her be, but as time passed in the quiet room, the sensation couldn’t be ignored.

Toph entered her room without knocking. “You still awake?” she asked, already knowing the answer.

“No. This is a dream.”

“Can’t be. In my dreams, I’m ruling over the entire world as Melon Lord.”

Katara’s laughter was bogged down by how tired she felt. She had no energy to muster, yet couldn’t relax enough to fall asleep. During the silence that followed, Toph took the opportunity and a seat at the end of the bed, asking, “Anything you want to talk about?”

“...I can’t help but feel nervous.”

“Why?”

Katara sat up, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knee. “I haven’t been to Omashu in years. Yes, my contacts will be able to reach me there, I’ll be able to forge new connections, and I’ll be present for major negotiations. But I’m still entering an arena I haven’t played in as a diplomat before, with other players who I only know secondhand or through reputation-”

“Hey. I’ve lived in Omashu for a while, and I know the people who live there. If they’re decent people, they’ll love you. And if they don’t, fuck them.”

Katara smiled, always grateful for Toph’s frank assessments and support. “Anyone in particular that I should watch out for?”

“Lord Langyan,” Toph replied without hesitating.

She raised an accusatory eyebrow. “What did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything to him. His son showed up to my dojo one day and demanded I teach him. I wanted to throw him out right then and there, but Shuh said how influential his family is, how they might make themselves an extreme annoyance, so I decided to give him a shot. He blew it within the hour. I told him that bullying his fellow students would not be tolerated, he fought back, so I earth-catapulted him.”

Katara chuckled. “I’ve had to deal with a few people I wish I could do that to.”

“That’s why you’re the ambassador and I’m not. I just can’t give up the luxury of beating up people who annoy me.”

She laughed again, but Toph could still hear the gloom in Katara’s voice. “What’s really eating at you, Katara?”

Katara bit her lip, putting the words together in her head before speaking. “This isn’t the first time in my life I’ve had to start a new chapter. I should be used to change by now, but... I’m not.”

“As someone wise once told me, waterbending is all about change. The Water Tribe has had to adapt to a lot of change, but they can meet those changing times because they have their loved ones backing them up.”

Katara moved across the bed, bringing her into a hug. “Thank you, Toph. I’m glad to have you in my corner.”

As she returned the hug, Toph thought to ask Katara if she’d like to bunk up again for the night, only to remember that the beds in their respective cabins were both smaller than the one they shared at the inn. 

Then another idea came to her head.

“Give me one second,” Toph said as she left the room. A moment later, she returned, dragging her mattress and blanket into the room.

“Toph!” Katara laughed, overwhelmed by such a ridiculous and loving gesture.

“Slumber party, Sugar Queen! Until we get to Omashu, you and I are roommates!”

Even though the two would spend the next several nights staying up late, talking and laughing, Katara found it much easier to get to sleep on the airship.

* * *

Despite her early sarcasm to the contrary, Toph made herself nothing but helpful for Katara during the move. She didn’t have many personal belongings, but what luggage Katara did have Toph carried herself. She helped Katara unpack and showed her around the city, proudly showing off her dojo and revealing her favorite places to grab a bite. In the years following its liberation, Omashu had fully purged the influence of the Fire Nation, and had become an invaluable supporter of the United Republic. King Bumi still ruled, as mad a genius as ever was. As soon as he heard Katara was back in his city, he invited the both of them to dinner at the palace.

“Jennamite!? Seriously!?” Toph mocked amidst her laughter.

“It was literally our first time in Omashu!” Katara protested. “Within the span of a day we were arrested, imprisoned in the palace, told that Aang had to face challenges, and had something called ‘creeping crystal’ slapped onto our fingers. And Bumi built it up like we were going to be buried alive!”

The king snickered from across the table. “In another life, I would’ve been a heck of an actor!”

“I can’t believe you guys once thought you were going to die via rock candy!”

Katara groaned with a grin on her face, as one can only do when they’re roasted by a friend.

“So, Katara, how long will you be staying with us?” asked Bumi.

“With your blessing, Bumi, I’d like to open up an embassy here in Omashu for the Southern Water Tribe, so that-”

“Sure!”

Katara blinked, and found herself wishing that all of her negotiations could go so smoothly and quickly. “Thank you, Bumi.”

“Do you need a house? I can give you a house.”

She bowed her head, saying, “Thank you, but Toph has already offered for me to stay with her.”

“That’s splendid!” Bumi announced between bites of his food. “So, when’s Aang coming to join us?”

Toph spoke for Katara, who practically flinched at the question. “He’s handling some affairs in the Fire Nation that will take him a while to handle.”

Suddenly, Bumi’s expression turned severe and foreboding. “Is Momo still alive?”

Unfazed, Toph replied, “Yes.”

“Oh, good,” came Bumi’s response, immediately perky once more. “I’m sure Aang can handle whatever’s wrong so long as Momo is by his side.”

Katara smiled and nodded her head, while underneath the table she took Toph's hand and gave it a thankful squeeze.

* * *

Despite her initial nervousness, Katara was quickly accepted into Omashu’s ranks. At the welcome feast Bumi held in her honor, Katara was a fish in water, getting into the good graces of key officials, merchants, and foreign diplomats left and right. Toph used her constant presence at Katara’s side as a deterrent against attendees who she knew were full of shit. She trusted Katara’s insight and good judgment, but there was still no way Toph was going to let sycophants, liars, and schemers waste Katara’s time or ruin her good mood. She promised herself that she would be there for Katara, and nothing in this world was going to stop her from doing that. 

The next morning, Toph woke early, as was her routine. Classes started at the same time every day, with the only exceptions being for special occasions and religious holidays. A quick feel of the house with her seismic sense revealed the location of the cook, the gardener, and one of the maids, but no sign of Katara. “Damn, she’s more of an early bird than I am.”

Just as Toph had predicted, their differing schedules kept the two apart for most of the day. To celebrate, Toph sent Shuh to Katara’s office in the palace with an invitation to meet that night at one of her favorite restaurants. The reply Shuh brought back was one of excited acceptance. Katara showed up to dinner that night a half hour late. “I’m so sorry, Toph! I got caught up in a meeting and I lost track of time-”

“It’s okay, Katara,” she assured her, passing her a cup of tea that had gone lukewarm. 

Little did Toph know that this would not be a singular incident but a pattern. Katara would gladly accept invitations to eat or just spend time together, but she always came late. Then, slowly, the acceptances turned to apologies when Katara turned her down, saying she either lacked the time or had made other arrangements.

Toph always buried her disappointed feelings, telling Katara every time that it was okay, that she understood, that they would catch up later. But later kept getting pushed back, if it came at all. Toph didn’t want to smother or bother Katara, especially given how important her work was, but there was this nagging feeling in the back of her mind that made her concerned. She wasn’t expecting for them to be able to hang out like when they were kids, but she was expecting for them to least spend some time together. As the days passed and she saw less and less of Katara, Toph wondered if the promise she had made would go unfulfilled.

When the two did manage to find chances to talk, Katara spoke at length on her consular tasks and little else, even when Toph would ask only of how Katara was personally doing. Omashu had been one of the few major cities to both open its doors to refugees and to invest in reconstruction projects for far off villages and towns. Both of these policies came from Bumi, but Omashu was a constitutional monarchy with a city council made up of nobles, generals, and a handful of elected officials, and their support was only to a point. Bumi wielded great power, but there was only so much he could do without sufficient support from the council. Katara had already made herself a familiar figure in many Earth Kingdom refugee settlements in years past, so it came as a comfort to their leaders when she offered them her support. They were going to need her, as rumors of an upcoming proposal in the city council to officially limit further funding and housing to asylum seekers proved to be true. Katara was elected to speak on behalf of the refugees and Bumi’s policies in an open debate scheduled for the end of the month.

Katara had also kept in close contact with her new friends in Xiang Ke, and even started the arrangements for new trade and diplomatic negotiations between the two cities. During the war, Xiang Ke and its lands had been used by the Fire Nation as both an industrial shop for weaponry and as a bread basket for its armies. During the occupation, native nobles had often kowtowed to the Fire Nation’s occupation, acting against the will of the populace. When the Fire Nation first arrived, the magistrate at the time surrendered immediately rather than risk a siege or open battle. The common folk made their feelings on the matter known when the magistrate wound up assassinated. This event began a long underground resistance movement against the Fire Nation, led and manned primarily by common folk. Following the war’s end, the people chafed at how the noble houses who consistently failed them for a century still remained in power. Two years ago, tensions had finally exploded into wide scale protests throughout the city following a clash between public ministers and a united force of dock workers seeking better pay and work conditions.

“Let me guess,” said Toph as Katara explained it, “law enforcement made it worse by cracking down on the protestors even though they were in the right?”

“Almost,” she replied. “There were plenty in power who would have preferred for such an outcome, but the city’s chief officer kept a cool head and a tight leash on his guards. He managed to deescalate the situation without violence or mass arrests. He didn’t resolve the underlying issue, but he prevented it from getting worse.”

“Huh. A half-decent city guard. That’s a first.”

“Actually, he was arrested last year for embezzling city funds.”

“What a fucker.”

Katara laughed, but her smile quickly faded. “Luckily, Aang arrived soon after and made an appeal on behalf of the unions, helping them secure much of what they wanted from the city. I only wish we might have heard about the situation sooner, or that I might have been able to do something to-”

“Don’t go down that road, Katara,” Toph stopped her. “You’re already doing so much. Don’t put more on your shoulders.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Katara said sweetly, but something in her tone made it sound like a platitude to Toph.

After a few days of barely getting to see her, Toph made it a point one morning to wake up much earlier than usual in order to see Katara before she left for the palace. She found her seated at the kitchen table. “I’ll take a cup of tea if you’re pouring.”

“This isn’t tea,” came Katara’s response, slowly and lifeless in a way Toph had never heard her speak before. “This is coffee.”

“What?”

“It’s a new drink made from beans of the Oroffa region. It’s starting to become popular internationally,” Katara elaborated, pouring Toph a cup before taking another drink from hers. “Then again, maybe that’s just because I’ve become their number one customer.”

Toph took a sip, and had to resist the urge to spit it back out. “Fuck, that’s bitter!”

“That’s because you just drank it black. You can sweeten it with sugar, milk, or cream.”

“How much of this do you drink?”

Katara laughed, with only a slight increase of energy in her voice. “Oh, I stopped keeping track a while ago. Honestly, I don’t remember how I was able to work in the mornings without it.” Upon seeing the disgust and confusion on Toph’s face, she added, “It’s an acquired taste.”

“What the hell is the point of drinking something in the first place if the taste sucks?”

Katara just laughed again and bid her farewell before leaving. Toph sat at the table, wracked with worry and doubt that would not go away.

* * *

The ideas in her head felt almost treasonous, but Toph had to be sure. She hated the idea of going behind a friend’s back, but she couldn’t think of another way.

First, she tracked down the Oroffan merchant who had a monopoly on coffee shipments into Omashu. Katara had been drinking the stuff for a while, but since coming to Omashu she had gotten all of her coffee from him. With a little persuasion, Toph managed to get her questions answered, namely what drinking too much of the stuff can do to a person’s sleep schedule, their anxiety, and just how addictive the caffeine in it can be.

Next, Toph spoke privately with the assistants that Bumi had appointed for the developing Southern Water Tribe embassy, asking them to describe Katara’s typical schedule. With the sheer amount of tasks they described, it seemed as if Katara was doing the work of ten ambassadors. When she asked if Katara took breaks throughout the day, if she spent any time at all reading for fun, or eating, or bending, or talking to someone who didn’t want or need something from her, the answers were negative. The assistants all meant their descriptions of her work ethic as a compliment, but Toph did not take it that way.

Toph had done this detective work on her own, but finally had to bring another person in to tell her what she couldn’t see for herself. “Shuh, tell me how Katara looks.”

“What do you mean, Lady Beifong?”

“You’ve got two functioning eyeballs. Tell me how she looks.”

Toph had a habit of asking things that caught Shuh unprepared, but this was different. He had never heard her speak in such a serious manner before. “Lady Katara is a beautiful woman-”

“I know that! You’ve known her for almost two weeks now. Do you see anything wrong?”

Shuh cautiously answered, “She looks… a little on the thin side, and she does seem rather tired more often and not.”

Toph took a deep breath, his confirmation of her suspicions landing like hard hail on her head. “Come with me.”

The two had timed their unannounced visit perfectly, as Toph couldn’t sense anyone in Katara’s office other than her. Katara, seated at her desk with a parchment in hand, didn’t hide her surprise when Toph opened her door. “Toph and Shuh! What brings you all the way here?”

The smile she heard in Katara’s voice almost cracked Toph’s resolve, but she came too far to turn back now. “There were a couple of birthdays today, so I gave the whole class the rest of the day off,” Toph half-lied, closing the door behind them.

“Aw, that’s nice of you,” Katara complimented, her gaze returning to the parchment in front of her.

“I came by to ask you something.”

“I’m sorry, I wish I could take a break, but I have to prepare these notes for a council meeting, I have a dozen letters from back home to reply to, and-”

“Katara, have you eaten anything today?”

“Of course I have, Toph,” Katara quickly replied, then paused. For the first time since Toph had come into the room, Katara lowered her papers and gave Toph more than the passing glance when she first walked through the door. “What?”

“Have you eaten anything at all today?” she repeated.

“Of course I have.”

Toph Beifong could not and would not be brushed off so easily. She crossed her arms and asked, “What? Tell me what you ate today. List them off.”

“Toph-”

“Tell me.”

“I... I had biscuits with my coffee this morning-”

“And?”

“...okay, I didn’t have a lunch meeting today, and with how preoccupied I’ve been, I guess getting a snack just slipped my mind. I know you can’t read, but I’m sure your earthbending can tell you how many scrolls and letters are in this room. Heck, even I don’t know, and most of them require my signature.”

Toph let her silence and the look on her face speak for themselves, how she wasn’t going to let Katara laugh this off with a half-hearted chuckle.

“I’m fine, Toph,” Katara assured, going back to the document in her hand. “I’ll grab something for dinner on the way home tonight.”

“Will that be before or after you get four hours of sleep tonight?”

Finally, Katara put down her paperwork and gave Toph her undivided attention. “You’ve been keeping track of my habits?”

“I wish I didn’t have to. But I’ve been noticing a lot of things that make me worry about you.”

Katara stood up and started making her way around the desk. “I appreciate your concern, Toph, but I don’t need you watching over me-”

Suddenly, the floor Katara stood on shot her up into the air. Before she could fall, Toph caught her in one arm, holding Katara in place on her shoulder. “Let’s go, Sugar Queen,” Toph stated with no room for argument, carrying her out of the room.

“Toph! What are you doing!?”

“Taking you home where I can knock some sense into you, and put some food into that belly. Shuh!”

Shuh, utterly stunned by what was transpiring in front of him, snapped to attention. “Yes, ma’am!?”

“Run ahead to the house. Tell the staff they have the rest of the day off. Tell Bhoj to prepare a big meal for two before he goes.”

“Yes, ma’am!”

Home might have been a stone’s throw from the palace, but only if it was an earthbender making the throw. Katara resisted and struggled, but she had no water to bend and Toph’s physical strength far exceeded her own. “Toph, I’m an ambassador! You can’t do things like this! We’re not kids anymore!”

“You’re my friend first, politician second. And I’m taking you home.”

By the time they had arrived, Katara had given up on trying to escape. As Toph stepped into the house, she sensed only Shuh and Bhoj in the kitchen, the scent of whatever delicious meal he was making floating through the air. She took Katara into the living room and set her down on the couch. The room hadn’t seen much use, as Toph rarely had guests to entertain and had little other purpose for it. Today would be the exception.

“Toph,” Katara growled, her anger white hot, “this was completely unacceptable! How do you think this is going to look to the people I work with!? Everything I do depends on respect. The respect I show others, and the respect that they show me. How am I supposed to garner that if you-”

Toph went to one knee and put her hand to Katara’s stomach, silencing her. She then pressed her hand harder against her chest, not enough to cause pain, but with just enough pressure to make her point. “If I lifted this shirt up, how much fat and muscle would be between my hand and your ribs?”

Toph held her hand in position long enough to drive her point home before removing it. “Katara, earthbending tells me so much about the world around me, like how little weight I feel in your steps.”

Katara, overwhelmed, said nothing. Her experiences following the end of the war taught her how and when to bite her tongue, even when her emotions were inflamed.

“I’m not trying to embarrass you-”

“Really?” Katara cut in, her voice sharp. “Is that why you carried me all the way here like a hunter carrying a hare deer?”

“In my own defense, that was funny. And it’s what you needed.”

“You think I need a friend to embarrass me like that!?”

“I think you’re in need of a friend who’s looking out for you!”

“Toph, it’s not as if I’m intentionally starving myself!”

“And how does that help your argument? How am I not supposed to be concerned that you’re skipping meals without even realizing? That you don’t sleep? That you don’t do anything besides work day in and day out?”

Katara folded her arms, wishing for once that Toph could see the anger on her face. “Who in my staff talked?”

“All of them. Every single one of them thought they were praising you, but even I can see what they can’t. Katara... when’s the last time you practiced a waterbending form?”

Yet again, Toph caught her completely off guard. “Toph… Toph, this conversation is going-”

“Answer the question. Outside of teaching Dawa, how often do you waterbend nowadays?”

“I…” Katara stumbled, realizing she truly didn’t know when the last time was. “...okay, I don’t know, but it doesn’t matter. I’m a master, Toph. I don’t need to practice.”

“It’s not about practice. It’s a part of who you are, and by ignoring it, you’re putting yourself out of balance. If you discovered that I had stopped earthbending, I know you would worry and confront me about it. When we were on Humpback, you were happier while training Dawa than I’ve seen you in a long time. Yet ever since your embassy opened up, you haven’t acted or truly felt happy once.” She placed her hand on Katara’s knee. Though she could feel the tension, Toph took it as a victory that Katara didn’t immediately move out of her touch. “You know I admire you, right?”

Katara let out a begrudging groan of acknowledgement. “You’re just saying that to make me less angry with you.”

“Yes, but it’s also the truth. You’re smart, kind, and tough as hell. The world would be such a shitty place without you in it. I’m not trying to undermine the importance of what you do for others. But if you don’t take the time to make sure that you’re okay, you won’t be able to help anyone, the first among them being you. Do you remember when we were kids, and we used to go at each other like honey jackals?”

“Not helping your argument, Toph.”

“I’ve got a point, trust me. As much fun as being the Runaway was, it was also really stupid in retrospect, and there were issues I had at the time that I was ignoring that I really should’ve come to terms with sooner. You were never afraid to speak the truth, even if I didn’t want to hear it.”

Slowly, some of Katara’s anger released, and regret took its place. “I can think of a few things I said to you back in the day that I should never have said.”

“You also said a few things that I needed to hear. Katara, even when we were at our maddest with each other, you cared about me. Sometimes caring for a friend is being their shoulder to lean on, and sometimes it means being the hard knock to the head to set them straight.”

“Toph, this situation isn’t like when we were kids-”

“The difference being that I was acting stupidly for selfish reasons, and you’re being stupid for selfless reasons.”

Katara glared at her, letting that ire dominate her tone. “You think what I do as ambassador for my tribe is stupid?”

“I think undereating, undersleeping, and overworking is a stupid combination to be, especially when you’ve taken on such massive responsibilities.”

“...you’re not wrong,” Katara relented, giving yet more ground to Toph’s concern.

“Here’s the deal, Madame Ambassador,” Toph said, treating her title with the same loving irreverence that she used with any nickname. “You keep up the self-care, including eating right, getting some real sleep at night, having fun, and keeping up your waterbending, and I won’t burst into your office to kidnap you to make you do it.”

“Toph, I’ve negotiated with firebenders who gave more generous offers.”

“I’m your friend. I’m not supposed to be reasonable when it comes to your health. If you need help for anything, you don’t even have to ask. I’m willing to come any time of the day that you need me.”

“Toph, you have a dojo full of students to teach. You can’t just-”

“Those runts and rugrats can handle a few hours of a day without me drilling them. But I made you a promise to be here for you. I made that same promise to your grandmother and myself. Katara, you know me. Do you think I’m going to let up when your wellbeing is on the line?”

Katara was silent for a moment. As angry as part of her still felt, there was no denying that Toph was right. She had been ignoring her own health and wellbeing, so of course a friend would try to put a stop to such unhealthy habits. As much as Toph cast herself as a fighter, in some ways she had become quite the diplomat herself. “Fine. But don’t be surprised if I ambush you at your dojo from time to time to check up on you in the same way.”

Toph smiled. “Hey, if a pretty woman wants to come to my dojo, feed me, and ask how my day is going, I’m not going to object.”

Katara couldn’t stop herself from laughing, the last of her anger and annoyance bleeding out. Toph held out her open hand between them. “We got a deal, Katara?”

Katara grabbed hold of her hand, gently shaking it. “Deal.”

“Good. Now come on,” said Toph, standing and pulling Katara to her feet. “Let’s go see what Bhoj cooked up for us.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your patience!  
> Chapter 4 will be shorter, but it likely won't be done until the new year. In the meantime, I hope to get out two more projects this month.
> 
> If you can spot the Hot Fuzz reference, you win a cookie. As a reminder, the real Toph Beifong ain't a cop.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> -A.F.S.M.A.S.


	4. Breaking Point

The agreement remained intact as the days progressed, despite its rocky beginning. Katara went to sleep and rose at reasonable hours, and never left the house in the morning without eating breakfast with Toph first. Toph had rearranged the schedule at the dojo to give the students an hour long lunch break in order to give herself the opportunities to leave for the palace and eat her own lunches with Katara. The entirety of the staff at the burgeoning Water Tribe embassy had been recruited as Toph’s informants, keeping her apprised of any potential sign that Katara might slip back into bad habits. She had accepted Katara’s need to be absent from home some nights due to various meetings and appointments only because she knew that she had kept up the prescribed self-care routine.

Weaning Katara off of coffee proved to be a bigger challenge than initially anticipated, but Toph felt reasonably optimistic.

The small garden of their abode wasn’t much compared to the extravagant grounds of the Bei Fong family estate. Toph had little use for it herself, but she made sure that it was cleaned and spruced up so that Katara could have a pretty spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and diplomatic duties. The garden even had aspects that a blind person could enjoy, such as the feeling of the smooth stone path beneath her feet, the rock garden with its jennamite gongshi, and the scent from the winding branches of the pink pine overhead mixed with the blooming orchids. In the pavilion where guests could look out at the junzi lotuses and fool’s goldfish in the pond, Katara would go through various waterbending forms. “Having fun?” Toph asked, as she did whenever she checked on her.

“Yes, Toph.”

“And you’ve eaten today, right?”

As Toph couldn’t see the badgered expression on her face, Katara stopped to pick up a carrot, the last survivor of her friend-mandated snack, and loudly bit into it. “And you call me motherly,” she said through her exaggerated chewing.

“You’d do the same thing for me, Sugar Queen.”

Katara grumbled but made no rebuttal, resuming her waterbending.

Toph knew her efforts were a success when, slowly but surely, she could feel a healthy body weight starting to build in Katara’s steps. The tone in her voice during their dinner and lunch conversations was no longer the pleasant but hollow ringing of a career politician that had so often brushed aside concerns for her wellbeing. The earnestness and passion that Toph so admired in Katara had returned after its prolonged absence. When something or, more often, someone was making her mad at work, Katara was now willing to vent her frustrations. When there was the rare doubt, Toph could gently coax Katara into letting the weight off of her chest. And when she was happy, whether that be from a productive day’s good news or just from spending time with a friend, the free, unabashed joy in Katara’s voice was sweeter music in Toph’s ears than any instrument could hope to match.

* * *

Of course, as she promised, Katara found ways to give tit for tat. At the dojo, Toph barked reprimands and corrections at the entire class as they went through a group exercise. She was so caught up in the heat of her loud lecture that she only noticed the vibrations of the approaching small crowd as they entered the main area of the dojo.

“I’ve never seen a better instructed group of benders in my life,” Katara announced as she stepped into the class’s view. Their eyes and mouths started widening at the sight of the caterers who followed her, each holding hot buffet trays that made the surrounding air smell divine. “Sifu Toph asked me to arrange this little banquet for you as a reward for all the great work you’ve done.”

The class looked to Toph in disbelief, fearing that this was too good to be true. “Really, Sifu?” Ming-Na braved to ask while her friends started watering at the mouth.

“Of course! Are you calling Katara a liar!?”

“No, Sifu!” the entire class answered.

“Katara saved the world with me, you know! Does she seem like the type who would lie to you!?”

“No, Sifu!”

“You’ve all made great strides in your training. Consider this an earned reward! Dig in!”

The class fell upon the food like jackal-piranhas on fresh meat. Katara had a pair of small trays just for the two of them, which they took off to the side to gain some privacy from the class. “I hope this was okay,” she whispered to Toph.

“More than okay,” came the reply, followed quickly by the snapping sound of Toph pulling two chopsticks apart.

“Quite a spirited lesson I interrupted.”

“I know when and how to use gentle nudges, Katara. My reinforcement is positive when it has to be. I don’t always go full tigerdillo on them.”

“I know, Toph. You’re an amazing teacher. I honestly think I could learn a few things about teaching from you.”

The comment was so heartwarming that Toph worried that the impervious image that she had built up in her students’ eyes might crack in front of them. “Only if you show me a few of your tricks, Master Katara.”

The unannounced break that Katara had made for the kids lasted longer than expected, if only because Toph got lost in their conversation. Eventually, she chose to ask, “What really made you do this?”

“My daily schedules have been planned for over a week now. I’ve known for a while that this would be the last moment of respite I get before tomorrow.”

The open debate, which would decide the fate of all funding for foreign relief projects, would start the next morning. “You’re going to do great.”

“Sure you don’t want to come?”

“Katara, if I was at that debate, I would just hold a boulder over the council’s collective heads and tell them, ‘Hey! Give my friend the money she wants!’”

Katara’s laugh came straight from the belly. “You should be my secret weapon for all negotiations!”

With a snickering smile, Toph slapped her hand onto Katara’s knee. “It’s good to see you’re still taking breaks. Though, to be honest, I was only expecting you to feed me on your surprise vis-”

She was cut off by the sudden placement of a dumpling directly into her mouth. “Just making sure you’re eating as right as I am, Toph,” teased Katara.

* * *

Omashu’s city council did not make a habit of arguing about their decisions for long. Traditionally, an open debate might last a day or two, and voting would take place on the third day.

The refugee and foreign aid edict took a full week of discussion alone.

On the eighth day, Toph arrived home later than usual, having stayed at the dojo to give a few after-school lessons to new students who needed the extra attention. She only picked up the feeling of two other people as she entered the house. In the kitchen, the cook was finishing the preparations of their dinner. “Hey, Bhoj, where is everyone?” she asked him.

He stopped abruptly, his knife hovering over the onion. “Lady Katara gave them time off. I’ll be done here soon.”

Toph didn’t need her heightened perception to know that something was up. “How long ago did Katara make it home?”

“Within the hour. She… she hasn’t left her room since arriving.”

“Why?”

He said nothing. Though she was blind, Bhoj could not bring himself to look her in the eye, using the vegetables in front of him as an excuse to hide.

“Bhoj, what’s wrong?”

He found enough courage to break it to her. “I think the council voted today.”

With a sudden rush of alarm, Toph bolted from the kitchen and up the stairs, stopping a few feet away from Katara’s room so as not to arrive like an avalanche. She could feel Katara in the room, just sitting in her chair. A stand with a bottle on it was placed next to her. Slowly, she raised her fist to the doorframe and delicately knocked on the wood.

“Toph?”

“May I come in, Katara?”

“Sure.”

Toph calmly opened the door and stepped inside. Katara made no move, remaining seated as she entered and cautiously closed the door behind her. “Hey,” said Toph, unsure of how else to start.

“Hey,” came the response, low and devoid of feeling.

“What are you drinking?”

“You can relax. It’s not coffee.”

“What is it?”

Katara sighed. “This is only my second glass. It seems I’m not even good at drowning my feelings in wine.”

Toph had only touched alcohol once, when Sokka and Suki passed her a bottle to celebrate their victory over the Rough Rhinos. The taste of the first sip was so horrible that she refused to take a second. She didn’t even want to know what drunkenness would do to her earthbending. As far she knew, Katara wasn’t a drinker either. A glass at a social event perhaps, but never in her daily life. 

Toph took a seat on the nearby bed and asked, “How did it go?”

The slow, deep inhale through Katara’s nose was more of an answer than any word could be. “Twenty-seven to twenty-three. The council voted to end all of Omashu’s contributions to refugee settlements and foreign reconstruction projects.”

The outcome had always been a possibility, one that Toph consistently dismissed whenever Katara voiced her apprehensions in private. Ever since the debate first came up in their conversations, she had always told Katara that she had every confidence that the edict would swing in her favor. She always said that Katara was too good at arguing to lose, especially when the matter at hand was so important to her. All her words had now aged like milk. Through the shock, the only question Toph felt she could ask was, “Why?”

“They said they’ve been generous enough for the past six years, and that they must now focus on the needs of their own territories.”

In the back of her mind, Toph could understand where that viewpoint was coming from. Following the war’s end, the City of Two Lovers had proven itself as much a leader in the recovery of the Earth Kingdom as it was once a stronghold against the Fire Nation. In some ways, their work outdid that of Ba Sing Se. She could only imagine the great cost that repairing all that damage demanded.

However, Toph also knew why so many on the council held the belief that their work was done. Some of her students were former refugees whose families had been granted Omashu citizenship. The signs were subtle at first, but Toph noticed the melancholy that hung from their shoulders and interfered with their training. After a little convincing, the kids opened up to her about some of the problems that their families, and by extension other refugees, were having in the city and its surrounding farmlands, towns, villages, and in the tribes who inhabited the Kolau Mountains. The adults had difficulty finding decent work, or even work at all in some cases, and not for a lack of skill or available positions. Kids whose parents could afford any kind of education for them outside of an earthbending dojo found themselves in overcrowded classrooms with others of similar fortunes, or in schools where their native classmates singled them out, mirroring their parents’ disregard or outright disdain for immigrants. Omashu was a proud city that had shown the great endurance that the Earth Kingdom was capable of time and time again, but that pride made some of its people pitiless and insular. Toph had been welcomed into their midst, but she knew a big part of that was her status as a war hero and her personal connection to Bumi.

“What about Bumi? Can’t he-”

“We’ve already issued an official appeal to the crown. Bumi can always approve emergency funding, but without an active war or a natural disaster going on the council is being strict on the definition of emergency. He could override the decision, but that’ll only reopen the debate. It won’t magically solve this issue.”

Katara raised her glass to her lips, taking a drink that lasted far too long. Toph, despite her concern, found herself unable to voice an objection. As she lowered the glass, Katara took an unsteady breath before speaking. “I failed.”

“You tried your best, Katara. You did everything you could-”

“Almost a dozen refugee camps were depending on the funding.” Katara’s voice was not laced with resentment or sorrow. Instead her tone was cold, deadened to any emotion. That made it far harder for a friend to listen to than rage or grief ever could. “Not to mention the villages and towns that were counting on the gold to keep flowing.”

“This issue is an old one. You’ve only been in Omashu for a month-”

“I’ve been working with refugee communities all over the world since the war ended. The camps were only supposed to be temporary shelters for those who had no homes to return to. But it’s been six years, and we’ve barely been able to relocate a third of them. ...all of the places affected by today’s decision sent leaders to speak for their people. I met with them in my office, I looked each and every one of them in the eye and told them… told them that I would make sure that the assistance they’ve come to rely on would keep coming.”

“You did everything that you could,” Toph consoled, trying her best. “I know you’ll find a solution. You’ve always found the best options to help people. Look at Nanyun. I’m sure you can turn this whole thing around.”

“If you say so.”

Toph had never heard Katara sound so dejected, so disappointed in herself. In her desperate hope to say something to make her feel better, she joked, “Hey, we can go back to my idea and have me threaten the council!” Her laughter slowly died down into awkward silence when Katara didn’t so much as chuckle at the remark.

“Aang wouldn’t have failed.”

Toph froze. This was the first time that Katara had said his name outside of a passing mention to someone else. “Aang isn’t perfect. Even he must have days where people don’t listen to him. If he were here, he’d probably say-”

“Did you know he and I planned on having children?”

Toph’s tongue turned to lead behind her teeth, leaving her speechless. As Katara continued, Toph could hear the sad smile on her lips, the bittersweet reminiscence overflowing in her voice, and braced herself for the worst. “‘Someday soon, I’ll make you my wife.’ He used to say things like that all the time, always with the biggest smile on his face. He said it so casually, too. We’d be alone, his head resting on my lap as I read through a report or a letter, and he would interrupt my chain of thought with such sweet words. I swear he said, ‘I love you,’ as much as he said my name.” There was a brief pause, and the smile that Toph heard in Katara’s words shriveled. “And I… I put an end to it.”

Katara turned her head to Toph, who sat very still on the bed. “Did Sokka tell you what happened? How… how it ended?”

“No,” Toph replied, her voice quiet and shaky.

“We kept going so long without seeing each other. We knew early on that our responsibilities would make our relationship long distance, but we brushed those concerns aside. We were so sure we could make it work. But time humbled that optimism quickly. Our lives became nothing but work. The last moment of real fun we had together was at Sokka and Suki’s wedding. After that, our chances to spend time together got shorter and shorter, and the time between those chances kept getting longer and longer. Even when we were together, I found ways to ruin it. I always talked on end about whatever political mess I was dealing with. Lobbying, negotiations, meetings, hearings, everything that I annoy you with nowadays. ...and then I would even make it worse. I snapped at him over the most menial of things, letting out the myriad of frustrations that had built up on the man I loved. ...he wanted to stay together. He said that we could make it work, that we just needed time. ...Aang wasn’t the one who gave up on us.”

Katara reached across to the stand, pouring herself another drink with unsteady hands. Toph, infuriated at her own speechlessness, spoke without thinking. “I’m sure this isn’t really the end for you two. You’ll patch things up. You guys are perfect for each other-”

The glass and bottle landed to the floor with a crash. “Then how I did I fuck it up!?” The tears came unimpeded, running down Katara’s face as she broke. She collapsed from her chair onto her knees, covering her face with her hands. Toph moved quickly from the bed, kneeling by Katara’s side and pulling her into a hug. For all the anger and sadness, all the regret, all the self-loathing she felt, Katara could not resist leaning into Toph’s embrace. “You were right. You were absolutely right. I’ve been so fucking stupid!”

“I don’t think you’re stupid!”

“Skipping meals, skipping waterbending, pushing people away, running myself on so little sleep I practically drink my weight in coffee just to get out of bed in the morning. I’ve been sabotaging my own life for years and I didn’t realize it until it was too late. How did I let any of this shit happen?”

Unsure of what she could say, Toph held Katara close to her chest. The two stayed there for some time, Katara weeping into Toph’s shoulder. When the loudest of the crying came to an end and Katara stopped shaking, Toph slowly built up the courage to say something. “Life is messy and fucked up. Sometimes it doesn't go the way we want, regardless of how hard we try. But the important thing… the important thing is that we keep trying. We persist and endure all of life’s hardships because what we’re doing is right. We survive because we have people who love us, who are there when we stumble, when we fall, when we feel like we can’t keep going on. We make it because of the people who are always there for us. Like… I am for you.”

Katara said nothing, only making a small ‘hmm’ sound in acknowledgement.

“You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. You know that, right?”

“Tell that to my conscience.”

Toph turned her head so that her face was right next to the side of Katara’s head. “Hey, Katara’s conscience. Shut the fuck up and stop making Katara feel bad.”

A small bit of laughter escaped Katara’s lips. The two stayed like that for some time, Katara taking comfort and strength in Toph’s support, and Toph putting everything else in the world aside to focus on Katara’s needs.

Then, out of nowhere, a crazy idea came to Toph. 

“You know what would cheer you up?”

* * *

“How did you learn about this?”

The Kolau Mountains were home to various tribes who owed allegiance to Omashu. Since the Fire Nation’s defeat, the mountain range was beset by bandits. They normally gave the city a wide berth, but the criminals had grown daring in the previous months and now ventured closer and closer to it.

“A student of mine has a dad in the city guard,” answered Toph. “There’s been reports of bandits in the surrounding mountains and valleys, harassing the mountain tribes and ambushing small caravans.”

As they made their way further and further into the stony heart of Kolau, Katara asked, “Toph, what if we’re interfering with a stakeout or a counterattack?”

“Then the soldiers should be grateful to have the toughest members of Team Avatar backing them up.”

They came upon a camp not too far from the city walls. The bandits were still awake, despite the late hour, gathering around the campfire to drink, argue over loot, and plan their next moves.

“How many are there?

Toph moved her foot through dirt, sensing the step of every bandit. “Twelve.”

“Twelve!?” Katara whisper-screamed.

“Hey, we’ve faced worse odds before.”

“True.”

The two crept into a position on a small ridge overlooking the camp. Toph whispered, “Ready?”

Katara nodded. “As I’ll ever be.”

With a swift movement of Toph’s foot, the entire campground shifted, taking the feet out from under every standing bandit and sending the seated flat onto their backs. The two were on them before they could regain their footing. It should have been a simple maneuver. Toph would turn the ground into loose sand, submerging the targets in the ground before hardening the stone, trapping them in place. Katara would cover her flanks, taking on anyone who wasn’t caught in the sinkhole. It almost worked, until one of the bandits jabbed her fist through the air, sending a fireball straight for Toph. Katara moved first, placing a barrier of water between them and the fire. With that, the entire tone of the fight had changed. Katara and Toph stood back to back, ready for anything as the bandits regrouped and slowly surrounded them with weapons drawn and bending stances ready.

There had been reports from all over the Earth Kingdom of unlikely bands made up of deserters from the Fire Nation and natives, including former Earth Kingdom soldiers who had been dishonorably discharged. The days of Mongke ravaging cities and towns was gone, but small scale raiding was a problem in many areas throughout the continent. Lu Sui, formerly a lieutenant of the Fire Nation, had made herself the queen of that problem for Omashu and the Kolau Mountains. “Well, well, well. Lookie what we got here, guys,” she taunted, her arrogant smile and deadly glare accentuated by the grim scar that ran from the top of her nose to the top left corner of her forehead. “Been years since I’ve seen the avatar’s girlfriends. You made quite a mess for my old commander back in Xishaan.”

“That’s funny,” Toph shot right back, “we don’t remember you at all. Guess with all the great enemies we’ve fought over the years, the names and faces of the weaker ones tend to blend together.”

Lu Sui growled, igniting fire daggers from her fists.

“None of you have to get injured tonight!” Katara shouted. “Get down on your knees and put your hands behind your heads! I can make sure that you’re-”

Lu Sui howled with cruel laughter, joined by her comrades. “You think six to one puts the odds in your favor, waterbender!?”

“I thought there were twelve of us,” one bald-headed bandit pointed out.

“Twelve versus two have the same odds as six to one, Lee,” Lu Sui groaned in annoyance. “But whatever! We got the two of you outmanned and surrounded!”

With diplomacy failed, Katara’s face was ignited by a brazen smirk. “You may have us outnumbered...”

Katara’s confidence leapt into Toph like wildfire, igniting a burning confidence in her as she finished, “But you’re clearly outmatched!”

Toph stomped, bringing a circular wall up around the two of them, and with twin punches she shattered the wall into a hundred stony missiles, pelting the bandits. Katara seized their moment of disorientation to send her water out in a swift circle, knocking many of them about.

The battle was now a true frenzy. The thieves’ few earthbenders quickly became irate as their attacks bounced off of Toph’s stone walls or were snatched right out of the air. Two men with knives tried to sneak their way through the chaos, only to end up sandwiched together between two stone tablets. Toph had to refrain from using her more destructive techniques out of fear of catching Katara in the crossfire, but even her hindered movements were more than what her opponents could handle.

Katara proved to be just as infuriating and relentless, her waterbending pushing and pulling the enemy to and fro. She had even turned their own booze against them, turning the liquor into icy missiles and restraints. One man, the largest of the group, made a mad charge at Toph with his axe raised high, but Katara was quicker. A rush of water slammed into the back of his legs, causing him to spin through the air before landing face first on the ground.

The battle continued like this until only two bandits were left: Lu Sui and an earthbender.

“Their leader’s mine. You take the bruiser.”

“Kick her ass, Katara,” Toph said before dashing towards the last enemy earthbender left standing. The bandit flung stone after stone at the charging Toph only to see the Blind Bandit knock them aside or reduce them to pebbles. As soon as she was within striking distance, she locked him into a grapple. Toph’s height had often led people to underestimate the muscular physique she hid beneath her clothes, and her current opponent was no exception. As he struggled to outwrestle her, the lone bandit quickly realized just how wrong he was.

On the other side of the battlefield, Katara faced off with the bandit’s leader. “Cute,” Lu Sui said, derision oozing from her mouth. “You think you can take me on yourself.”

“Do you think you could beat Azula?”

“What?”

“Princess Azula. Ozai’s daughter. Do you think you would last long against her?”

An annoyed, almost patriotic sneer overtook the bandit’s face. “Princess Azula was a prodigy. The jewel of our nation who toppled the Impenetrable City. No one but her father was a better firebender.”

Katara smirked. “I’m the one who took her down during Sozin’s Comet.”

For the first time since the fight began, Katara could see fear on Lu Sui’s face. She tried to dismiss her terror with another fire blast, but Katara could see the desperation that now stained Lu Sui’s attacks. She attacked again and again, only for Katara’s barriers to reduce every strike to steam.

With an unnerved scream, Lu Sui shot both fists forward, sending a massive fireball at Katara. Seeing the attack for what it was, her instincts told her to duck and roll to get out of the way. But Toph was still behind her, and she couldn’t risk Toph not reacting in time. Katara threw her entire supply of water into an ice wall, but the force of the flames was too strong. She was knocked flat onto her back as the ice shattered and turned to steam.

Dazed, Katara struggled to get to her feet. Lu Sui was already darting towards her, fire daggers burning intensely from her fists. She leapt into the air, ready to strike down upon Katara, only to be bashed by the launched body of the now unconscious earthbender, sending them both flying back.

“Need a hand?” Toph asked, already helping Katara up.

Katara eyed Lu Sui, who was shoving the body of her knocked out comrade off of her. “Give me a boost, Toph,” she asked, pulling spilled water from the ground to her hand. Katara dashed forward and jumped, the ground beneath her feet launching her like an arrow through the air thanks to Toph’s precise movement. Lu Sui had just gotten back up when she saw Katara soaring straight for her. With the water frozen around her fist in an icy gauntlet, Katara decked the bandit queen across the face, sending her back down and knocking her lights out.

She had only a moment to collect herself when Toph appeared behind her, pulling her into a hug that lifted Katara off of her feet.“That was such a cool fucking move! We should've come up with combo moves back when we were kids!”

Suddenly, the vibrations of an incoming squad rumbled beneath Toph’s feat. “Katara, there’s more on the way.”

The two braced for another round, only for the newcomers to shout, “Halt, in the name of King Bumi!”

Katara and Toph lowered their hands and eased their stances, waiting as the guards with their lit lanterns arrived in full. One of them said in astonishment, “Wait, that’s my son’s earthbending teacher.”

“You idiot, that’s Toph Beifong!” another soldier piped up.

“And isn’t that an ambassador from the palace?” a third asked.

“Did they take down all these bandits by themselves?”

“Great Shu’s balls, this is impressive!”

As the guards got the bandits on their feet and shackles on their wrists, their captain, a young officer named Neta, took the opportunity to speak with them privately. “Well, this’ll make for an interesting report back at headquarters.”

“You can just tell them we did your job for you.”

“What Toph means to say is that we’re glad we could help, captain. The members of Team Avatar are always willing to lend assistance wherever we can.”

Toph had an uneasy relationship with the nobility and military of Omashu, primarily due to her distaste and disregard for all nobility, military, and law enforcement, so she followed Katara’s lead and kept quiet, nodding her head. The captain bowed in return. “Omashu owes you a debt, Madame Ambassador and Lady Beifong. One which I hope you’ll let us start repaying by joining us for a victory trip to Vaalee’s tavern.”

Toph slapped an arm around Katara’s shoulders and answered for them both. “Hell yes!”

* * *

They came home late, tired, and laughing. By the time they had left the tavern, Katara and Toph were so inebriated that only by hanging onto each other were they able to walk with half the grace of one functional person. They collapsed onto the couch of the living room, Toph letting out a ‘whoosh!’ sound as she fell. “And here I thought I’d never see the day where I’d meet drunk Toph,” Katara said amid her laughter.

In the thrill of the celebration, Toph had let the guards talk her into drinking a fruity ale that hid its alcohol well enough that she ended up downing half a case before the effects started to kick in. “Get used to her while she’s here. Everything is too wobbly. The entire room is fuzzier than Appa when he’s shedding.”

“I told you to stop at three.”

“Yeah, well, this is what I get for not listening to you.”

Then, not unexpectedly, Katara put a damper on the mood. “Well, while I’ve got you in such a receptive state of mind, I should mention that we shouldn’t make a habit of what we did tonight.”

Toph raised her brow in confusion. “What? Why not? We were badass tonight! You knocked out the bandit queen with one punch!”

“Don’t get me wrong. Tonight was fun. Stupid and reckless, but fun. I’m glad you talked me into it, but it’s not healthy to resolve my problems by punching people.”

“That’s how I work out all of my feelings.”

Katara laid the ends of her fingers on Toph’s shoulder, gently putting an end to the braggadocio. With a sigh and a nod, Toph admitted that Katara was right, saying, “You’re so mature and responsible, Madame Ambassador.”

Katara took her by surprise again with her next disarming question. “You’ve mentioned your promise to be there for me more than once since I moved here. Does part of you wonder if you’re keeping it?”

Naturally, Toph wanted to assert her confidence to the contrary. But she had already spoken with Katara on the subject. She thought she had only hinted at the fear and doubt that prodded her conscience when it came to being a good friend. She should have known Katara would have seen right through her to the heart of the matter. This was no place for a cocky dismissal of her softer side, even if such a response was instinctive. Only Katara could get her to be so open. “Hey, I’m only human. Even I can be a little insecure sometimes.”

Katara pulled herself across the couch and affectionately locked Toph into a hug. “Don’t be. You’ve kept your promise and more. I’m so lucky to have you watching out for me, Toph.”

Toph gently reciprocated the hug, wrapping her arms around Katara’s waist. For a moment, the drunken fog that surrounded her lifted, and the world seemed to grow softer. No coherent thought ran through her head as she settled into the feeling of Katara’s embrace. Then, in a move that can only come from the impulsive fancy of a drunk friend, Toph suddenly shouted, “Avalanche!” and rolled to the right, bringing Katara down onto the couch with her.

The pointless and thoughtless action did accomplish one thing: it made both of them start laughing again. Even when Toph lost her balance and slipped off the edge of the couch, bringing Katara down on top of her to the floor, they still kept laughing. They stayed there for a while, laughing until their sides were sore and their lungs were bereft of air. Toph felt that Katara seemed to hold onto her even tighter than before, resting her head against the side of her own.

She didn’t know how long they were on the floor like that, but Toph didn’t care. She was drunk, and as silly as the moment was, she didn’t want it to end. Katara was the first one to move, slowly wriggling out of the hug as her feet tried to find their bearings. Toph opened her arms to let her go, resisting the urge to keep them where they were. Awkwardly, Toph grabbed hold of the couch and pulled herself onto it. At the entrance of the room, Katara stopped, using the wall to keep her balance. “Good night, Toph,” she softly said. “Thank you for everything.”

“Good night, Katara.”

When Toph eventually managed to make it back to her own bed, she was unable to sleep. The lingering feeling of that embrace, and how she found herself wishing that it had lasted longer, would not let her be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to back badasses is honestly a favorite trope of mine, so I'm glad I could throw it into this chapter.
> 
> Thank you all for your patience with this update. 2021 hasn't been easy for any of us, huh?  
> The new year has been rough for me, both internally and externally, but I'm optimistic that things will work out.
> 
> Thanks for reading! Comments are always welcome!
> 
> Sincerely,  
> A.F.S.M.A.S.


	5. Recovery

“Toph?”

Katara’s voice came through the air as soft as a breeze, but it still landed like thunder in Toph’s burning head. “Katara?” Even the sound of her own voice slithered through her ears to attack her brain. Every part of her felt sore. Her seismic sense lacked the fuzziness it had in her drunken state, but now it felt like her surroundings were titled, the images in her mind fading in and out. How could she feel this tired after sleeping? Why did her mouth feel drier than a normal morning? Why did her head hurt so damn much? “Katara, what is this?”

“I believe you’re hungover.”

Toph let out a pitiful moan into her pillow. “How are you?”

“I feel fine.”

“...how?”

“Guess I can hold my liquor better than you can,” Katara lovingly teased.

Toph groaned, swearing to herself that she would never touch alcohol again. Katara placed a hot cup of tea on the nightstand and pulled water from her pouch to her hands. As she slowly brushed her gentle fingers across Toph’s head, her waterbending momentarily washed away the pain. “How’s that feel?”

“You’re not going to work today. Getting rid of this hangover is more important than diplomacy.”

Katara softly chuckled. “If I could take today off, I would. The tea should finish alleviating your headache. I sent Shuh on ahead to the dojo to tell your students to start going over their morning exercises.”

“No,” Toph protested, struggling to rise on wobbling limbs. “I’ve never been late to the dojo before, and I’m not starting today.”

Katara placed a quick kiss on the side of Toph’s head. “Take it easy today,” she whispered.

“You too.”

* * *

For the first time since opening her dojo, Toph regretted coming to class. Her headache had transformed her own voice into screams directly into her ear, and now it turned the sound of her students’ earthbending into dao swords being repeatedly stabbed into her brain. Even with Katara’s tea, which worked far too slowly for her liking, class was hell on Earth. She couldn’t stop massaging a spot on the side of her head if she tried. Toph’s stubborn resolve to power through the pain quickly weakened, forcing her to raise her free hand, signaling her students to stop. “Class,” she said, her voice a murmur compared to her normal, booming shouts, “today we’re going to learn how to subtly earthbend. That means no shouting, no breaking boulders, no loud sounds of any sort.”

“Are you okay, Sifu?” Chien-Po innocently asked.

“I’m fine. I just had-”

“My dad said you beat up bandits last night!” shouted Uratta, lighting Toph’s head on fire again.

“Really!?” another student asked.

“Yeah! He said he and his squad found her and the Water Tribe lady who fed us surrounded by a dozen knocked-out bandits!”

The class descended into a cacophony of questions, asking Toph if there were really a dozen of them, what the fight was like, and if she could teach them the moves she used on the bandits, utterly overwhelming her in the process. Only one student noticed her physical discomfort. “Were you injured, Sifu?”

“No, Ming-Na. I’m just not feeling well today.”

“I’ll bet!” Ling commented, his foot firmly in his mouth. “You look terrible, Sifu!”

Ming-Na was quick to admonish her friend. “Ling! You can’t say something like that to a teacher!”

“What? I’m just saying she looks miserable, she’s been massaging her head all morning, and she looks like she’s gonna fall over or puke any second.”

And with that, Toph stopped holding back her scowl. “You’re all very sweet kids, but the next person who asks or comments on my appearance or health gets ten laps around the dojo.”

“Understood, Sifu!” the class instinctively answered together, driving another sonic spike into Toph’s brain.

* * *

The headache and dizziness had passed by the time she returned home for dinner. Yet again the house was largely empty, save for one person in the kitchen. 

“This is a surprise.”

During their travels in the war, Aang handled gathering most of their food. As a nomad, he had extensive experience in finding wild berries, nuts, vegetables, and mushrooms that were safe to eat, and, as the avatar, he was able to earn the coins needed to buy supplies from the settlements they visited. Sokka handled the fishing and hunting, though he was far less successful at them than Aang was at foraging. Katara was the one who handled the cooking. The last time Toph had a Katara-cooked meal was in the Fire Nation, when Team Avatar was staying in the beach house on Ember Island.

“Welcome home, Toph. Are you feeling any better?”

“Mostly. What’s this?”

“I figured you could use an ancient, Water Tribe specialty.”

Whatever it was, it certainly smelled good, but Toph still found room to be nervous. “Please tell me it isn’t sea prunes.”

Katara chuckled. “Oh, no. I can’t even get decent ocean kumquats here in Omashu, let alone sea prunes. Lucky for me, however, that I discovered that one of the butchers who supplies the palace had what I needed for a dish you’re going to love: Arctic Hen Surprise.” 

Toph wasn’t sure if she should be excited or cautious. The arctic hen that Kanna had made back in the South Pole was great, and Toph knew from previous experience that Katara was a good cook. It was just the way she said ‘arctic hen surprise,’ and with the assurance that she was going to love it, that made Toph perturbed. But she kept that sense of foreboding to herself as she took a seat at the dining table, letting Katara serve her a steaming hot bowl of arctic hen surprise. Toph gingerly raised her spoon to her lips and took a sip. A moment afterwards, she calmly declared, “This is the greatest soup I have ever tasted.”

“The secret ingredients are a night of revelry and a morning of suffering.”

Their dinner conversation was casual, Katara asking how her day went while slowly going through her bowl. Toph, on the other hand, practically devoured her own, soaking up half the broth with the bread she ate in between explanations of what her first experience as a hungover teacher was like. 

“I gotta say,” Toph grinned, feeling her usual energy starting to return to her, “I could get used to coming home to find you’ve made me a hot meal every night.”

Katara smiled back at her. “Well, someone’s gotta take care of you when the frostbite eel is swimming in your noggin.” 

Toph tilted her head. “The what?”

“It’s an expression for hangovers back home,” Katara answered. “Frostbite eels are venomous, even to the touch. If a run-in with one doesn’t kill you, the venom’s symptoms are similar to a hangover.”

“Don’t worry. Last night was the last time I’ll ever drink. Besides, I should be asking how you’re feeling. You were pretty into it yourself.”

Katara shrugged, making a pretense of humility. “Well, I may not be a party girl, but I’ve had a couple of wild nights you don’t know about.”

“I’d like to be there for the next one. Get a chance to experience wild and crazy Katara.”

“As an ambassador, I can’t do anything to jeopardize my good standing in Omashu society, but I promise to take you with me should I ever get another chance to cut loose. You can be my designated sailor and carry me home.”

Toph laughed, but the joy died down after a realization dawned on her. She hated to pose a question that would ruin their good mood, but after what happened before their attack on the bandits, Toph knew she would have to ask sooner or later. “How did it go at the embassy today?”

Katara’s tone was low-spirited, but not overwhelmingly so. “There were disappointed faces among the refugee emissaries. A couple even refused to come to my office and left Omashu in the morning without a word. I met with the rest to discuss our next move for their communities.”

“Any word on your appeal?”

“I spoke with Bumi. He’s very supportive and sympathetic. I think he would gladly approve something if I asked him, but I don’t want to go down that road if I don’t have to. I don’t want him to face a challenge from the nativist faction that’s building in Omashu.”

“The way you described it to me, and the way some of my students describe what their families go through, it seems that those challenges are already at his doorstep.”

Katara solemnly nodded. “The oppositionists include too many powerful nobles and key members of the army. I can’t risk escalating tensions between them and the crown, not without gaining enough support. The vote on the edict was... a close one. With enough time, I think I can win enough hearts and minds to turn the situation around.”

“And if that doesn’t work, you always got me to threaten anyone who won’t listen.”

Katara laughed, easing the tension in the air. “In the meantime, I’m exploring new sources of funding. I think within the next few months we’ll see the relocation process starting to pick back up. We’re already looking into new regions for refugees to settle in. I’m… optimistic that I can turn the situation around.”

“I know this is a stretch, but what about Ba Sing Se?” Toph suggested. “The earth king has had five years to blow off whatever steam he has for us over the old colonies. Maybe he’ll send some aid if he knows how many people still don’t have a permanent roof over their heads.”

Katara shook her head. “I appreciate your brainstorming, Toph, but Ba Sing Se is not an option. The earth king’s reconstruction projects are currently concentrated in the north and east, and I don’t think his efforts are entirely benign.”

“What do you mean?”

“After the Colony Crisis, King Kuei knows he can’t use a militaristic approach to exert Ba Sing Se’s authority over the rest of the Earth Kingdom. In light of that fact, he’s been trying subtler ways to spread the city’s influence. Rumors have been floating around from all over, whispers of backroom deals, withholding aid to use it as a bargaining chip in negotiations, even financing certain nobles and political factions that would show more favor to Ba Sing Se than their rivals would. Two weeks ago, I received a letter from a friend of mine in Daidu. The ambassador sent by Ba Sing Se has Dai Li agents in his personal guard, and she told me about incidents of charismatic strangers delivering public speeches to crowds in the city, preaching of Ba Sing Se’s historical role as the cultural head of the Earth Kingdom. I believe that Daidu isn’t the only major city that’s being targeted like this. Agale Ghar, Sangrah, Garsai, Sisad-Sotun. Even during my brief stay in Xiang Ke I heard of troubling rumors coming from the magistrate’s office. They may not be sending out armies, but the Impenetrable City is acting like a new empire.”

“So, when he was completely clueless about what was going on in the world, the earth king appointed Long Feng as his secretariat. Now that he does know about the outside world, he’s basically acting like Long Feng.”

Katara might have laughed had it not been such an accurate appraisal. “King Kuei may believe he’s doing what’s right for the Earth Kingdom, and he may be helping refugees elsewhere, but I don’t trust him. If word got out that I was in communication with him without Bumi’s approval over matters in the Omashu region and its neighbors, every noble, general, and captain would call for my removal. Or worse.”

Toph’s whole body went rigid, her fingers pressed into a fist. “Hey. That’s not gonna happen. If anyone came after you, they’d have to get through me first.”

Katara put a soothing hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Toph. That’s not going to happen. But, even if something were to come up, it’s nice to know I have you as my line of defense.”

“And you always will.”

Katara smiled, then paused, her hand lingering at Toph’s shoulder for a few seconds too long. When she spoke next, uncertainty overtook her voice. “To get away from politics, there’s… there’s something I’ve wanted to ask you all day.”

“Shoot.”

“Did I… did I do anything weird last night?”

Toph raised an eyebrow. “Weird? What makes you ask that?”

“Well, we were at the tavern later than we planned. We were also pretty goofy walking home. I felt like I was going to trip and take you down with me any second.”

“Hey, when you’re leaning on the best earthbender alive, you never have to worry about falling.”

“The greatest earthbender alive was also drunk last night.”

“And yet, you chose to lean on her, proving you were even drunker than I was.”

Katara gave a mock bow, her voice painted with giggling. “A good ambassador yields to a fair and finely put point.” The humor quickly faded as she became serious again, starting to make Toph worried. “But then we had that moment on the couch, and out of nowhere I started talking about your promise, and we wound up on the floor, and it just…”

Katara’s voice trailed off as Toph was bombarded by the memory of that moment, of that stupid roll that took them both right off the couch. A strange sensation vibrated through her arms. To put a rest to it, Toph raised a hand to the side of her head, rubbing a spot with her thumb.

She was snapped back to the present by Katara’s question. “I didn’t do or say anything last night to make you uncomfortable, did I?”

“No, Katara,” she quickly replied. “You could never do anything to make me uncomfortable.”

“Thanks, Toph.”

In the silence that followed, Toph broke it in a way that sent a severely awkward feeling through her guts. “You can be annoying or infuriating sometimes, but you’re never discomforting.”

Katara laughed, but Toph couldn’t find it in herself to laugh at her own joke. It had escaped her lips with barely any thought, and it felt hollow in the air. She didn’t understand why she felt the need to break that moment with a snarky comment. To recover from that regretful quip, Toph asked, “Hey, you wanna do something tonight?”

“I wish I could, but I have to review some documents for a meeting I have tomorrow.”

“Okay. I’m here if you need me.”

“And I’ll always be grateful for that.” Katara gave her a hug, which Toph found herself leaning into, before exiting the kitchen and heading back upstairs to her room and office. 

In her solitude, Toph sank into her seat, wishing she could redo the last parts of that conversation. At least Katara thought what she said was funny.

Why did it feel so wrong? Toph had made thousands of sarcastic jabs at Katara in the past. Hell, sarcasm and heated arguments were, for a time, the only way they spoke to one another before they managed to find their own synchrony. They butted heads time and time again during Team Avatar’s travels, but beneath the vexations, behind the arguments and the accusations of selfishness or motherliness, Toph had understood that Katara, just like all her friends, was changing her for the better. It was nice to know that someone like her was watching out for her. Toph would always be grateful for that moment when Sokka pulled her aside at the waterfalls to talk. Her past words,  _ That’s more than my own mom, _ echoed in her mind.

In the moment of clarity that followed her memory, Toph understood why tonight felt different. Unlike in the past, she wasn’t trying to be funny. It wasn’t intentional, but she had thrown up that snark as a wall between herself and the softer side of that conversation, the softer side of her own feelings. She might have scrutinized herself further over it, had it not been for her next realization. It was in her clarity that Toph realized that she had, yet again, been rubbing the same spot on the side of her head, just as she had done throughout the rest of her day. Why? Her headache was long gone, as was her nausea and fatigue. There was no need to keep doing it. 

It was then that she remembered that the spot she had been rubbing, the spot she was still gently rubbing, was the same spot where Katara had kissed her in the morning.

Toph shook her head and pulled her hand from her head, refusing to go any further down this road of thought she was on. She went straight to bed to grab some shut eye, only to find it kept slipping out of her fingers.

* * *

The next day, Toph had come to a decision, one that kept her mind off of other matters. She had given Katara a new home, had helped her reclaim healthier habits, had been her shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to whatever she had to say, and was a constant source of both distractions and support whenever either was needed. But all of this had been as a friend, for her personal life. The politics that Katara operated in had long been outside of Toph’s purview. She had no talent or taste for them, regardless of how good of a liar she was, so she actively avoided them. Thus, Toph was the only member of Team Avatar to escape the politics of rebuilding the world.

But for Katara, she was willing to step out of her comfort zone and into new territory. Her idea was a long shot, but Toph was willing to take it if it meant helping Katara.

“Shuh, I need you to write a message for me.”

The young man had been enjoying a peaceful moment in his little office, his nose buried in a new book, when she had interrupted him with a surprising request. “Of course, Lady Beifong.” He speedily readied parchment, ink, and brush. “Where is it going?”

“Gaoling. To the Beifong estate.”

Shuh paused. Toph had never spoken of her parents to him, and from the tone in her voice he knew the weight of this action. “As you wish, my lady. I’m ready whenever you’d like to begin.”

With a long breath to steady herself, Toph began dictating the letter. “Hello, mom and dad. I hope you’re both doing well. Omashu is good. Things at the dojo are going well. I know it’s been a while since we last spoke… scratch that last part.”

Shuh started over with a new scroll, hastily writing down what hadn’t been struck. Toph hesitated to continue, putting her words carefully together in her head before letting her mouth unleash them. “I know I’ve never spoken to you about stuff like this, but something important has come up and I wondered if you might help. Can you please ask your politician friends and the other noble families if they can start accepting refugees as immigrants to Gaoling? A friend of mine, Lady Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe, has been leading the fight to help refugees whose homes were destroyed by the Fire Nation. Through her work, hundreds of people have found new homes, and those who still live in the camps receive assistance from the alliances she has made. She established Nanyun, an incredible port town in the Air Islands, as well as many new villages along the western coast. If you saw her in action, you’d be as amazed by her as I am.

“But there are so many people in need, and the camps weren’t meant to be shelters for this long. I know Gaoling must still be recovering from what the Rough Rhinos did to it, but I would appreciate it if you could do whatever you can to lend her a hand in this endeavor. Many people are still looking for new homes, and Gaoling would be great for those willing to make the journey.

“...I hope to hear from you soon. Your daughter, Toph Beifong.”

“I’ll get this to the Ostrich Horse Express as soon as the ink is dry,” Shuh stated. “Is there anything else I can do for you, Lady Toph?”

“No, Shuh,” she replied, turning to leave. “Thank you for your help.”

“Any time, my lady.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Interesting parallel with azulaang this week. This chapter was originally going to be longer, but I decided to restructure and shorten this part of the story in order to get this chapter out quicker.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -A.F.S.M.A.S.


	6. Shopping Spree

“Toph, have you ever thought of changing up your style?”

They had been lounging in their living room on a rare morning where they were free from their respective responsibilities when Katara broke the comfortable silence with a question. Toph smiled and popped an almond into her mouth. “You cannot improve upon perfection, Katara.”

“I meant your wardrobe,” she explained. “You wear that same outfit every day.”

The outfit in question wasn’t far off from what Toph wore during the war. Her outer layer was a black tangzhuang jacket without a collar or sleeves, fastened by pale yellow knotwork to match the color she wore as a kid. On the jacket’s back in golden embroidery was her dojo’s insignia: a massive badger mole earthbending, flanked by two mountains it had moved. The tunic beneath and her trousers were still dark green, though she now wore longer sleeves and pant legs, fixed at her wrists and ankles by studded leather bands. At her waist was the championship belt of Earth Rumble Six, which she had modified to better fit her frame. The only other items of ornamentation she wore were her headband and the meteor iron given to her by Sokka, kept as the pendant of her necklace. And, of course, Toph still never wore shoes, with the boots she had worn in the South Pole being a rare exception. This fact had made her something of an early scandal among some of Omashu’s high society when she first arrived in the city. Toph found their offense hilarious, grateful that something she saw as such a little detail was enough to keep snobs away from her. King Bumi, on the other land, laughed along with her, as he was also known to frequently go barefoot.

“It’s the uniform for my dojo. I can’t force my kids to wear those clothes and then show up to class in something else.”

“But you’re always in that uniform. Even when you’re not teaching.”

“I have multiple copies of this outfit, and I got maids who wash them for me. Besides, no matter what I wear, I see the same thing in the mirror.”

Katara shifted in her seat, putting away the book that had been resting in her hands. “I know. I’m just saying you could use a little variety.”

Toph instinctively squirmed, her mind flashbacking to spa day in Ba Sing Se, to the preparations Katara put her through for Sokka and Suki’s wedding, and to their day together in Nanyun. “You want to go shopping, don’t you?”

She could hear the persuasive smile in Katara’s voice. “Omashu must have some pretty fantastic shops. Ones that I’ve never had the time to check out before because I’m so busy.”

Toph restrained her sigh, an uneasy smile sprouting on her lips. How anyone could resist going along with something Katara was trying to convince them to do was beyond her. “I wouldn’t know, but… what the hell. Let’s go shopping.”

* * *

Katara’s excitement was palpable, from the giddiness in her step to the way she almost dragged Toph out of the house and through the streets to the city’s main shopping district. Omashu was not as rigidly divided as Ba Sing Se was, though a good eye could tell the prices of a store based on the attire of the customers walking in. “Let’s start at the smaller shops,” the ever socially responsible lady ambassador announced as they arrived. “Where should we begin?”

“I don’t know,” Toph answered bluntly.

“You still don’t know much about this city, do you?”

“I know every great place to eat. Therefore, I know as much about Omashu as I need to know. Also,” said Toph, holding up her left hand, “raise your hand if you haven’t been a part of sabotaging Omashu’s mail system before.”

Katara giggled, which already started to make this trip worth it. “Fair point. You pick out where we go for lunch and dinner. Until then,” she said, taking Toph again by the arm, “the lead is mine.”

She descended upon the various shops like an ecstatic hawk on a coop filled with slow pig-chickens, taking Toph along for the ride. Dresses, robes, sashes, leggings, shoes, earrings, bracelets, rings, Katara wanted to see more than two eyes could see, and try on more than what most people would wear in a lifetime. If she saw something in a style she liked but not in her color or if it wasn’t in her size, Katara was glad to commission the shop’s resident seamstresses to alter or even make a custom item for her. She was on such a spree that Toph started to wonder just how much coin Bumi was giving her, and wondered at what point Katara had forgotten that the impetus for this trip was to get Toph new clothes. She might have cringed at the overwhelming femininity that she had been pulled into, if it hadn’t been for the fact that knowing Katara was happy always made her smile. After all the time and energy she had poured into her duties at the embassy, she had earned this day off.

The only thing that Katara seemed uninterested in were necklaces, a fact which Toph did not speak on after noticing. She had given her mother’s necklace to Sokka almost four years ago so he could use it to propose to Suki. The sudden realization that Katara may have once expected a replacement from Aang drove a knife into Toph’s heart. She was careful not to let any of those feelings show. Katara was having such a good day, and Toph would never want to ruin it.

Nothing was going to stop her from making a sarcastic complaint or chaffing Katara for her shopping habits, but Toph was going to make sure she had a good day.

* * *

“Since when are you a hat person?” Toph asked after an unbearably long number of minutes passed while Katara tried on several forms of headwear.

“I’m not, but you never know. One of these might call out to me.”

Toph let out a controlled sigh. Shopping with Katara might not have been such a daunting task if it weren’t for the fact that she always took her sweet time. The only other person who she had ever met who was an even giddier shopper was Sokka. It made Toph wonder if it was a family trait or a Water Tribe trait.

* * *

The owners and employees of the shops were all too happy to leap at such an enthusiastic customer, and Katara didn’t even have to reveal her status as a member of Team Avatar to get such service. Throughout the day, she only ever introduced herself as the ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe, which Toph was quick to pick up on. Through her amiable, subtle questions, Katara learned a great deal of Omashu’s local garment industry, how individual shops were doing in a post-war economy, and what struggles they were facing, all the while restocking her own closet.

“Someone’s sowing a lot of goodwill today,” Toph cheekily noted when the employees were out of earshot. The reception they received at each shop was more than just excitement at having a customer with deep pockets. Every owner and employee they had met had been quickly charmed by Katara, and Toph couldn’t blame them.

“In the eyes of their host city and its people, an ambassador becomes an icon for their homeland. Everything they do and say reflects on their people. The Southern Water Tribe I want Omashu and the rest of the world to see is strong, generous, and eager to forge friendships.”

“So, even when you’re just having fun, you’re still working?”

Katara smiled. “I prefer to think of it as having my cake and eating it too.”

Toph chuckled, playfully shaking her head. “And what did our raid against the bandits do for your reputation?”

“Oh, the gossipers had a field day with that one,” she replied. “Knowing I’m a powerhouse in battle and diplomacy makes some more eager to work with me, and makes others want to avoid the risk of getting on my bad side.”

“Good. If the rich and powerful of Omashu can’t be reasoned with, scare the shit out of them.”

* * *

“Anything new and exciting happening at the dojo?”

“You mean besides the fact that my students have now seen me hungover?” asked Toph before she slurped up another helping of noodles.

Katara tried and failed to suppress a laugh before taking a bite of one of her dumplings. The cafe they had chosen for lunch was perfect, as it was right next to the shopping district, its food was great, and its customers did not include members from Omashu’s high society that Toph had long ago tired of. Katara did not have the luxury of Toph’s irreverence and disregard for the wealthy and the elite, though there were many times she shared that outlook.

“If it’s okay to ask,” Katara continued, “have any of your students started to learn metalbending?”

“Not yet, but there are three good candidates I’m looking at to start learning soon: Inumu and Karban, two of my oldest students, and Ming-Na.”

“That sweet little ten year old? The one I saw practicing with those three boys?”

“That’s the one.”

“Must be a special young girl if you think she’s ready for metalbending.”

Toph nodded. “The idea of metalbending has proven to be quite a sieve. Sometimes I’ll get a potential student who clearly just wants to learn metalbending, and I toss them out right then and there. I won’t be teaching it to anyone who isn’t ready or worthy to learn it.”

“Good to know. I’d hate to see metalbending misused.”

“I make the kids work for it, but there isn’t a single one of them that I don’t trust. By the time they leave my dojo someday, they’ll be standing taller than any other class of earthbenders in the world.”

“How does a student graduate from the Golden Badger Mole Dojo? I don’t think I’ve ever asked you before.”

Toph sat up straight with a smirk on her lips. “Simple. I tell new students how they can graduate on their first day. All they have to do is challenge me to a one-on-one match on the main platform of the dojo and knock me out of the ring.”

“So, the dojo has had zero graduates so far.”

“Not one! But I am damn proud of those kids! Speaking of whom, by the way, you spoiled them with that banquet the other day. Chien-Po asked me how you were doing, but I could see the subtext that he and all the other kids just want to wring another meal out of you.”

Katara smiled. “If you ever want to do something special for them, just let me know. I’m only too happy to help with your gentle touches, Sifu Toph.”

Toph grinned and dove her chopsticks back into her noodles.

* * *

“Toph, what are your sizes?” asked Katara when she finally moved her focus to Toph after one last trip for herself following lunch.

A shrug was her only response.

“You don’t know your own measurements?”

“I haven’t grown an inch in almost two years,” Toph lamented. She had hoped that puberty would have been kinder to her in regards to height, but, alas, she remained the shortest member of Team Avatar, excluding Momo. To rub salt in the wound, not only had her height been fuel for Sokka and Suki’s jokes, but Aang had ended up being the tallest of the group.

“How is this fair!?” she had asked during one of their team reunions.

Aang, who had surpassed six feet, had told her in that sweet voice of his, “I guess the Earth loves you so much that it doesn’t want you to grow too far from it, Sifu.”

All of Team Avatar had laughed as she groaned.

Truly, there was no justice in the world.

“Well, how did you get the clothes you have now?”

“I got my staff to take care of all of that. All I ever had to do was to describe what I wanted the uniforms to look like, get measured for the last time a while back, and pay for all of it.”

“Ah, the burden of growing up rich,” Katara teased. “You always leave the minutiae to the help and never learn to take care of it yourself.”

She shot a smile right back at her. “You’re not doing too bad yourself these days, Madame Ambassador.”

“True, but I grew up doing laundry, sewing, cleaning, cooking, and looking after all of the other kids of my village. All that hard work made me into a master of self-efficiency.”

Toph gave a small laugh to Katara’s comeback, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but fixate on that sharp contrast between their childhoods. Her parents had been controlling, overprotective to the point of smothering, and even kept her a secret from most of the outside world, but Toph had never known the hardships of war, loss, and struggling to survive as Katara had. As a kid traveling with Team Avatar, she had never thought much about the status given to her at birth. It was only ever a tool, such as when they needed tickets at Full Moon Bay, or for the occasional joke. But now, with an adult’s perspective on her life, the contrast didn’t seem funny at all.

 _You can’t change the past_ , Toph told herself, putting her mind at ease, _but you’re here for her in the present_.

She made no comment or sign of protest as Katara called over the head couturier, who took every measurement that Toph had. It didn’t take long for Katara to choose out a score of items for her to try on. As trepidatious as she had been over shopping with Katara again, Toph trusted her to pick out clothes that would look good on her. 

“We’ll start with these.” Unattended children in candy stores could learn something about excitement from Katara today. She took Toph by the hand and led her into the dressing room, shutting the door behind them with her foot. The room was just small enough that it bordered on being cramped by having two occupants. “Here,” she said, handing Toph the first item on the list and hanging the rest up on a hook, “we’ll start with this.”

Toph froze, save for a quick, sudden tremor in her arms. “You... want me to undress in front of you?”

Katara blinked, a sudden heat swelling in her cheeks. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll step out-”

“No!” Toph countered, stronger and louder than she intended. “No, no. This is fine. I’ll need your opinion anyway, and I’ve got a shirt and shorts on over my underwear. It’s fine for you to stay.”

Toph started undoing the bands at her wrists, concentrating all of her mental focus on that simple task to distract her from Katara undoing the anklets that kept the end of her pant legs in place. Katara stood back up as she put the bands to the side, saying, “Alright, we’ll start with the... oh, my.”

With the leather bracelets gone and her right sleeve rolled up, Katara could see the magnificently crafted vambrace that Toph wore. Forged from black steel, it featured intricate golden engravings, including a flying boar insignia on the center of the arm. “I’ve also got a pair of greaves on to match,” Toph proudly explained, revealing the other vambrace on her left arm and holding it up next to her right. “They’re little tricks up my sleeve. Literally. In case I ever get backed into a corner by someone who manages to get as close to me as you are now, all I gotta do is whip these into action to make my attacker rethink all of their life choices.”

Katara, almost too amazed to speak, ran her hand along the vambrace, feeling the smooth metal and tracing the golden lines and symbols with her fingers. The vambraces looked good enough to be pieces of a king’s suit of armor. On Toph, they looked even better than they would on any royal, perfectly complimenting her musculature and her peerless earthbending skills. “How am I just noticing these?” she asked.

Toph smiled, delighted in the wonder she could both hear in Katara’s voice and feel in the way her hand was all over the vambrace. “A lady has to have her secrets, Katara.”

“But not from me, I see.”

“Well, I have to have someone I can trust. Otherwise, I’d go insane.”

Katara’s brought her free hand to the other vambrace, giving it equal admiration. “Indeed.” A moment of silent appreciation passed before Katara collected herself. “In that case, I’ll have to rethink some of these clothes I picked out for you.”

She was gone with half of her selections, and quickly returned with a replacement for each. “This should work better,” she explained, holding up the first new tunic and trousers. “Not only is it your color, but the sleeves and pant legs can be kept loose enough below the elbows and knees to hide your armor. The rest of the outfit is more form-fitting, to show off the rest of your musculature.”

Toph nodded in thanks, amazed that she didn’t even have to ask for Katara to choose outfits that struck that perfect balance between secrecy and exhibition.

“We should also see if there’s a tanner or armorer nearby. We can get you new bracelets and anklets.”

“Ah, Katara. You spoil me.”

By the time she was done with her, Toph had three new shirts, a coat, two pairs of linen trousers, and even a new headband added to her closet. Feeling content at that, she asked, “So, has my wardrobe been sufficiently updated?”

Katara’s brief silence gave Toph pause. Her next question came with hints of both hesitation and enticement. “I wouldn’t suppose you’d want to try on a new dress, would you?”

“I would suppose that you want me to try on some dresses.”

“When have I ever given you a bad suggestion?” Katara cheekily asked.

Toph sighed. With a tilt of her head and shrug, she gave Katara the go ahead, who only needed a second to retrieve her target, having spotted it as soon as they had walked into the store. The cheongsam was a silken masterpiece, with others like it proudly on display as a testament to the skill of the shop’s weavers. Toph hadn’t worn anything like it since the two had snuck into the earth king’s party during the war. Though she could not see the gown’s spring green color and its extensive embroidery, with teal and cyan lotuses flowing from the ankle to the shoulder where they met a pair of qingniao birds in flight, Toph could feel the soft silk clinging tightly to her body, with sleeves that hung a few inches from her wrists and a slit in the skirt running between her ankles and knees. As Katara’s hands floated over the bodice to fasten the dress in place where her chest met her shoulder, Toph suddenly stopped breathing, and that strange sensation in her arms reappeared. She was only able to regain her breathing, somewhat, once Katara’s handiwork was done and she felt her take a few steps back to admire her. “So…? How’s it feel?”

“Soft. A little tight. ...girly. Really girly.”

“You look beautiful!”

Toph hung her head, hoping Katara couldn’t see the sudden blushing that she felt burning in her cheeks, her mind wandering back to the end of their first spa day together. “I’ll take your word for it. At the very least, I have something girly to wear for whatever we do for your birthday.”

Katara chortled, not even bothering to restrain herself. “I’ll hold you to that promise, Toph.”

A short breath of laughter in turn escaped Toph’s throat. “I’m sure my parents would approve of your taste,” she said without thinking.

She regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. The damage they had done was immediately apparent. “I’m sorry, Toph,” Katara apologized, guilt pouring from her voice. “I didn’t mean to pressure you into this. I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable-”

Toph scrambled to undo her mistake. “No, Katara. You could never…” She kicked herself, hating how she had suddenly become tongue-tied. She explained, her voice awkward but earnest, each word carefully chosen, “To be honest, you can make being girly kinda fun from time to time. You make me feel comfortable enough in whatever I choose to wear or do with my life. I never feel like I have to be any one thing when I’m with you.”

Katara pulled her into a hug, which Toph gladly reciprocated. “Thank you, Toph. You know, you can be so sweet when you want to be.”

Toph shrugged as best she could in the hug. “Yeah, well, don’t tell anyone. It could ruin my entire reputation.”

Katara laughed again, hugging her tighter. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

* * *

“We done here? It’s huoguo night at Hongli’s, and I don’t want to miss it.”

“Not just yet,” answered Katara. “There’s this one shop I heard about on the east side of the district that specializes in swimwear.”

Toph froze again. “Swimwear?”

“It’s spring, and summer will be here before you know it.

“Katara, I still can’t swim.”

“Then, if you want, I’ll be happy to teach you someday.”

Aang had offered to teach her once. She had laughed and turned him down. Sokka had joked about tossing her into a pool once. She had answered by launching him into the air with earthbending. But now that it was Katara offering to teach her... 

“Sure. ...someday.”

* * *

“I’ve lifted boulders that were lighter than these bags,” Toph declared as they finally left the shopping district, bags hanging on both arms from wrist to shoulder. Knowing Katara was having fun almost made Toph forget the weight of the increasing number of bags as they moved from one store to another throughout the day. Had she known in the morning that agreeing to take Katara shopping would also mean having to carry everything they bought, Toph… would still have come, but she’d have at least thought of a few extra ways to complain.

“I did offer to carry some of them. Twice.”

“No,” she retorted, taking a step away in mock protest. “I have to carry all of them. That way, I have unlimited rights to grouch.”

Katara chuckled, shaking her head. “Did you have fun today?”

“At the risk of making you think that I enjoy shopping, yes. Today was fun.”

“I’ve seen you enjoy shopping before, Runaway.”

“That was because I was spending money that I scammed out of assholes. Spending money I earn legitimately just isn’t the same.”

Katara laughed again, further proving to Toph that she made the right call in agreeing to this trip. “Well, thank you for bearing through this, Toph. Today makes me wish that I had more like it.”

Toph was quick to pursue that line of thought, hoping to nudge her in the right direction. “Last time I checked, you make your own hours, Katara.”

“If only it were that easy. The embassy is still growing, and I still have so much to do.”

“Right, right. You’re all responsibilities, Madame Ambassador.”

Katara, her tone sly and encouraging, countered, “Next time we get a day like this, you get to decide what we do together.”

Toph replied with an impish grin. “I’ll hold you to that promise, Katara.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mr. Butlertron: Are you thinking what I’m programmed to be thinking?  
> Scudworth and Mr. Butlertron: Shopping spree!
> 
> These two are now at the part of the slowburn where it’s a date but neither of them realize that it’s a date.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> -A.F.S.M.A.S.


End file.
